Places Forgotten and Dreams Remembered
by elcaballero
Summary: It has been over a year since Nick and Judy became partners at the ZPD, and everything seems to be falling into place for the two of them. But when a mysterious mammal from Nick's past reappears, their loyalty to their jobs and their commitment to each other are tested.
1. Chapter 1

The rain was falling harder now. Nick Wilde did a quick sweep of his surroundings, but he did not see anything out of the ordinary. No movement. Nothing. Retreating farther into the shadows of the alleyway, Nick stopped when he felt his back press up against the wall of the large industrial building behind him. Off in the distance, he could hear sirens. How far away they were, he couldn't say, but they sure sounded like they were heading his way.

"Where is he?"

Nick glanced down at his wrist, only to realize he didn't have a watch. Nick shook his head as though he was waking up in a daze. His gaze shifted skyward. The neon lights of a skyline shown off in the distance, the bright colors piercing through the slightly misty sky. It was a world that Nick felt completely disconnected from in that moment. His current location was seemingly the polar opposite of the bright, bustling city just beyond his view. His ears focused on the sirens blaring in distance. The piercing sound slowly faded and finally disappeared altogether. Nick let out a sigh of relief.

At that moment, the door a couple feet to Nick's right swung open. He yipped and stumbled to the side, but immediately composed himself and turned to face the black-clothed mammal standing in the now open doorway.

"So much for being the first one done." Nick paused. "What exactly was that thing that you said?"

"How long have you been waiting?" came his partner's voice, muffled by a cloth mask.

"Oh, I don't know. Five, ten, maybe thirty minutes," Nick responded slyly. "Enough time to go to the gas station and get some Furitos."

Nick pulled a bag of chips out of his duffle bag that he had actually packed earlier.

"They have some weird - and I mean _weird -_ flavors now. I mean _blueberry_? I never thought I would see the day." Nick opened the bag and took out a single chip, eying it intensely before finally tossing it in his mouth. "Want one?"

"Ha ha, very funny, con artist." Nick's partner removed his mask in one brisk stroke, revealing the face of an arctic fox slightly older than Nick. Nick supposed that there could be a rugged handsomeness in there, but his eyes were cold and penetrating. He definitely looked like someone you wouldn't want to mess with. "But we are wasting time. Keys."

Nick reached into his pocket to take out the pair of keys he had been entrusted with earlier. To his dismay, he found the simple task harder than he thought, as he couldn't stop his hand from shaking. Eventually, he was able to root the keys out and tossed them to his partner. In the same motion, Nick turned and started walking toward the nondescript white van partially obscured by a dumpster down the alleyway.

Nick heard a chuckle behind him that caused him to grit his teeth, but he kept on walking. The rain was really starting to get to him by this point and he had to wipe his eyes with the back of his paw. Nick shivered, but not from the cold. Despite the rain, the temperature was still mild and he was wearing multiple layers of clothing anyway. Outwardly, Nick had been putting on a confident, almost smug persona, but internally he was a wreck. Eating blueberry Furitos was about the only thing he could do to calm his nerves.

 _The job's almost done._

Nick climbed into the passenger's side of the van. He was soaked and the water from his fur dripped onto the seat beneath him. The driver's side door opened quickly, but no one joined Nick in the van.

"Crevan, is something wrong?" Nick asked after a few moments, no longer sounding confident.

The arctic fox jumped into the seat beside Nick.

"The coast is clear here," Crevan replied in a measured tone. "But I hope that those sirens aren't coming for us."

 _More sirens? Now?_

Nick clenched his jaw. He couldn't come up with a snarky response.

"Nervous?"

Nick looked over at Crevan and found the other fox staring at him intently. "Maybe," was the only response that he could think of.

Crevan chuckled, a tinge of condescension permeating the air between them.

"We'll be in the clear soon, rookie. In the meantime, be prepared to hold on."

The engine roared to life as Crevan turned the key. The headlights from the van flooded the alleyway, revealing places that just a moment ago had been covered in shadow, including the doorway that Crevan had just come from. The door itself looked rusted and Nick doubted that many people ventured out this way. They pulled forward slowly, finally reaching the end of the alleyway after what seemed like an eternity to Nick. He looked out the window of the van across a vast parking lot that now lay in front of them, searching for a path out for the industrial complex that they were in. Crevan was still driving slowly, as though they were sneaking around in the van.

 _We are really exposed here._

Nick's eyes focused on a point almost directly in front of them.

"The gate is open!"

Nick could barely contain the excitement in his voice. Suddenly, the sound of sirens became perceptible to him, almost as if they were responding to his exclamation.

"I see it! Hold tight!" Crevan called out.

Crevan mashed the gas pedal down and the van accelerated much quicker than Nick would have thought possible. They raced across the empty parking lot and blew past the guard station by the gate. As the van passed by, Nick noticed a medium-sized car parked just outside the gate, as if it were waiting to enter. In that moment, he questioned what the mammal in that car was doing there. Nick's first thought was that they were a hapless employee that forgot something at work and just happened to return at that moment.

 _We couldn't get that lucky._

His next thought was that it was one of Crevan's associates. Crevan _had_ been very insistent that they would have a way out…

 _Does he know someone on the inside?_

Before Nick could give it any more thought, Craven ripped the wheel to the right and the van exploded out onto the main road, its tires squealing under it. Chips went flying every which way as Nick was thrown into Crevan, who shrugged him off.

"Whoawhoawhoa! You're heading toward them!?" Nick shouted as he fell onto the back seat, his feet ending up above his head. Right then and there, he pondered how ridiculous he must look.

"Just trust me on this!" Crevan growled back.

Nick worked his way back upright and stuck his head between the two front seats. Up ahead, he could see a stream of flashing lights. In the darkness, the lights combined with the rain on the windshield to create blue and red figures that appeared to dance back and forth. The sirens seemed deafening to Nick now and they were only getting louder. Nick bit down on one of his claws through his glove in anticipation, just as a group of three police cars passed them, one after another. Nick didn't breath; instead he held a laser focus on the police cars in the rearview mirror. Next to him, Crevan did the same thing.

The police cars retreated into the distance, before finally turning right, and, more importantly, away from the industrial compound.

Nick and Crevan simultaneously lot out howls of joy, relief, surprise, and many other emotions that Nick couldn't place at the moment.

"I never had any doubt," Nick said as he climbed back into the passenger's seat. "But I've never seen a fox look as scared as you did."

"Hey, I had my reasons," Crevan laughed as he slowed to merge in with the traffic that had appeared around them. "I can't completely trust a rookie. How would I know if you tripped an alarm or not?"

"Easy. As I said, I'm perfect, Nick said smugly as he learned back in the seat, his paws behind his head. "Also, as I saying earlier - before you rudely interrupted me, by the way – what was that thing _you_ said to me before we started this whole escapade?" Nick said in a playfully mocking manner. "Something about doing something before someone else?"

"I don't recall," Crevan said flatly. "But…"

'Oh! I think I know!" Nick snapped his fingers before Craven could say anything else. "You said 'I promise you that I will be done before you are. No question.' "

Crevan let out a mocking sigh. "You never forget anything, do you Nicholas?"

They shared a laugh between themselves, and Nick watched as downtown Zootopia approached in the distance. In that moment, Nick felt elated. He had done it. Soon he would have his money. Soon he would be able to see his dream come to fruition. It was so close that he could taste it, like a blueberry chip lying on the dashboard.

"That is the thing about this city though," Crevan continued. "So many promises, and so many go unkept. What difference does it make if I don't keep a promise or two?"

At the time, Nick didn't think much about the statement. It was something that he thought he agreed with. But now the words echoed in his head.

 _So many promises go unkept._

 _What differences does it make?_

 _Promises…_

 _Promises…_

 _You promised!_

* * *

"Ten-eighty!"

Nick lurched upright in his seat.

 _What was that dream about? Why am I remembering that now?_

"I repeat! Ten-eight-zero! We have a chase in progress!"

Nick blinked and looked around, trying to process his surroundings.

 _Where am I? What am I doing here? Eh, I'll figure it out after I get some rest…_

As he slumped forward out of pure exhaustion, his nose struck the steering wheel in front of him.

 _Bbbbwwwwhhhhhaaaap!_

The sound of the car horn startled him awake, for good this time.

"Officer Wilde, are you in the area?"

Nick watched the cars on the road in front of him whip by through the windshield of his police cruiser. He was currently parked on the shoulder of Herd Street, one of the major thoroughfares of downtown Zootopia. Overhead, a shuttle coming from Little Rodentia whooshed by, contained within a narrow, transparent tube. Nick rubbed the sleep from his eyes and grabbed the two-way radio on the dashboard.

"Officer Wilde here. Central… uh… can you repeat that again… over." Nick couldn't downplay the confusion in his voice.

"We have a chase in progress, near the park, heading east on Pack Street. Officer Fangmeyer is in pursuit. Are you able…"

Nick had already flipped the siren on and shoved the cruiser into gear. He peeled out onto the main road and floored it.

"I'm on it, Clawhauser. Keep me updated."

 _I should be able to intercept them up ahead,_ Nick thought, followed by: _Bogo is going to kill me if I screw this up._

"I can't believe I fell asleep!" Nick muttered under his breath.

"Come again?" Clawhauser's voice came over the radio.

 _Whoops._ Nick released the talk button on the radio and set it down. _I can't believe I fell asleep!_ _If I come back to the station emptyhanded, the Chief will never let me hear the end of it…_

Nick turned onto a cross street and kept going. If Clawhauser's directions were correct, he should have seen the cars somewhere up ahead. Instead, the street was empty, except for the occasional parked car on the side of the road. An intersection was fast approaching. Nick reached for the radio again.

"Clawhauser. Where… gah!" Before Nick could finish his question, a yellow blur flashed in front of his cruiser. For a brief moment, Nick couldn't comprehend the fact that the object in front of him was another car. Nick's eyes went wide and he tried to slam on the brakes, but it was too late to do anything. Nick felt an impact and watched as the cruiser clipped the back bumper of the car as it roared past. The impact was enough to send it fishtailing briefly, but the driver was able to regain control, all the while not losing any speed. Nick screeched to a halt on the other side of the intersection, almost losing control of the cruiser in the process. The next moment, another car sped by behind him, followed by a ZPD cruiser, its lights and siren blaring. They continued down the street to Nick's right, trailing the first car that had almost disappeared in the distance.

"Nick! Are you alright?!" Clawhauser's concern was unmistakable, and made Nick wonder if he had involuntarily screamed into the radio. Nick composed himself quickly, but his heart was still racing in his chest.

"Hey Clawhauser. You said that they were going east on Pack Street, right?" Nick said flatly.

"Yes?"came the tentative reply.

"And did you mentioned that there are TWO cars?!" Nick exclaimed bitingly.

"Um, I didn't know, Officer Wilde. I'm so sorry! I… oh…" Clawhauser sounded genuinely upset.

"Don't worry about it, big guy," Nick replied, feeling a little guilty for snapping at the cheetah. "Just keep me updated from now on, okay?"

"Can do!" The excited reply crackled over the radio, but Nick barely heard it because he had already flipped the cruiser around and gunned it down the street after Officer Fangmeyer and the two fleeing suspects. Soon, the trio reappeared in front of him, weaving in and out of traffic. In their wake, they left a line of cars that had hurriedly pulled over to the side of the road, as well as a lot of cursing drivers. This allowed Nick to catch up, and he soon found himself pulling even with Officer Fangmeyer. Nick glanced over at the tiger, who was leaning over the steering wheel, as the cruiser was just a tad too small for him, and looking intensely at the road in front of him.

"Stripes, fill me in please!" Nick called out over the radio.

"We have to stop them before they get downtown!" came the breathless reply. Nick gritted his teeth. He knew that allowing the chase to get to an area with heavy foot traffic would probably end in disaster, but the area they were in was populated enough that a crash would more likely than not involve civilians. He watched the storefronts whip by in his peripheral vision, making a mental note of the number of mammals strolling on the sidewalk in front of them.

"A pit maneuver is out of the question! Can we get a road block, Clawhauser?" It was the only option that Nick could think of at the moment. With luck, they could box in the suspects, but they needed to do it quickly.

"Already on it!"

To this point, they had been fairly lucky in terms of traffic, but now Nick was swerving left and right to avoid cars that were seemingly oblivious to what was going on around them. His paws were wet from sweating and he had to tighten his grip on the wheel to the point where it hurt, in order to maintain control. Up ahead, he could see the makings of a traffic jam.

 _There's no way they can get through there_ ….

Nick slowed and grabbed the radio. "We might get lucky for once. We should have them stopped near 5th on Pack Street. Will engage shortly."

Nick squinted at the nondescript green and yellow cars in front of him. They were both honking and revving their engines, but there were no breaks in the traffic, and they had slowed to a near halt. The street that they were on was one-way and there was nowhere to go. Nick wondered what thoughts must be running through their heads at that moment.

"I'll take green!" Fangmeyer called out.

"Ten-four." Nick sped up and angled his cruiser toward the bumper of the yellow car and prepared to ram it. At the same time, he had one hand on the tranquilizer gun that was holstered on his belt. He would have to hurry around to the driver's side after ramming the car in order to prevent the suspect from doing anything that would endanger the other drivers on the road. _Not too fast. This isn't my car after all…_

Right as the bumper of the cruiser was about to make contact, the yellow car suddenly spun ninety degrees in the lane. For a brief moment, the car was perpendicular to Nick and the driver, a raccoon, was visible to him. In the blink of an eye, a space had opened up between cars in the adjacent lane, and the raccoon disappeared through it, leaving a trail of smoke in his wake. Nick had to slam on his brakes to avoid rear-ending the next car in front of him.

"Whoa, Central I have a problem here. One suspect is heading north." Nick looked to his left, the direction that the raccoon had sped off in. The only possible route was down a narrow alleyway. "Down an alley. He's heading down an alleyway." Nick grimaced. The situation was getting dangerous for any pedestrians in the area.

"I can get there!"A new voice leaped out of the radio and caused Nick's heart to skip a beat. It was a voice that he would recognize anywhere, even through the static of a police radio. "I'm turning onto Trip Street now!"

 _Alright, I need to catch up. Right now._

Nick turned the steering wheel and starting pulling forward, in an attempt to cross into the far lane. There was still a slight gap in between the cars to his left, but he had a poor angle and needed more room. The cruiser's siren was still on, but none of the cars around him seemed to be paying him any mind. Nick slammed his fist on the horn, a move that finally drew the attention of the driver next to him, a rather disheveled-looking weasel. He stared at Nick for a moment, then shrugged, as if to say sorry, and returned to vacantly staring at his cellphone.

"Come on, back up! Nick yelled and hit the horn again. In his mirror, he could see that Officer Fangmeyer had managed to grab the other suspect, another raccoon, out of his car and was in the process of handcuffing him. Nick's full attention returned to finding a way to go after the yellow car.

 _Enough of this!_ Nick tightened his grip on the wheel and inched the cruiser forward until it contacted the front side of the car blocking his path. He could see the weasel yelling and gesticulating wildly at him.

 _Do I have your attention now?_

In the next instant, the car backed up, giving Nick just enough space to fit the cruiser through. He pulled through, crossing the lane perpendicular to the flow of traffic. As he passed by, he gave the weasel a mock salute. The smug look on Nick's face quickly disappeared when he thought about the cosmetic damage he must have caused to both vehicles.

 _I'll definitely be hearing from Chief Bogo about that._ Nick sighed internally. _Stay focused. I have a job to do._

Nick hopped the curb and entered the narrow alleyway that the yellow car had disappeared down. It was slow-going and there were a couple times when he nearly scrapped his side mirror against a wall. Eventually, the alley opened up and split left or right. Cars, presumably from shop owners, were parked haphazardly here and there. Nick chose to turn to the right, tipped off by the group of trash bins that had been knocked over and now lay in the middle of the way.

Nick kept following the alleyway, but he was growing concerned that the raccoon had been able to give him the slip. These fears came to a head when he saw that the alleyway ended directly up ahead, terminating against a concrete wall. As he approached, however, he noticed that part of the chain-link fence that had run along the side of the road was laid over, presumably run over by a car.

 _This guy is serious_ , Nick thought.

He followed the trail through the fence and found himself in an apartment complex. Around him were rows and rows plain-looking square buildings that differed only in their sizes, presumably to cater to different types of mammals.

 _He could have gone anywhere._ Nick decided that he had no choice but to go toward the main road.

"I may have lost the suspect," Nick reluctantly spoke into the radio. "I'm heading toward Trip Street now… wait."

He had passed by the final apartment building and could see the main road. Right at the entrance to the apartment complex, the yellow car again came into view. It had jumped the curb to his left and hit a fire hydrant. The hood was crumbled in and the driver's side door was wide open. Just beyond the car was a police cruiser parked horizontally on the road, effectively blocking the entrance. There were no mammals in sight.

"I have a visual on the vehicle!" Nick shouted and slammed on the brakes. The cruiser screeched to a halt in the middle of the road, and Nick bailed out. He raced past the crashed car and ran toward the nearest apartment building.

 _This is the only place he could have possibly run to._ Nick's mind was racing, trying to process the scene that he was leaving behind. He could hear Clawhauser yelling for him from the radio he had left in the cruiser, but he ran on.

 _Hurry, hurry, hurry!_

Nick burst through an open gate and almost ran over a surprised genet. He kept running.

Rounding a corner, he found himself in a garden behind the building. Plants were trampled around him and there were two trails of paw prints in the dirt. Nick's gaze lifted and he saw two figures struggling in the dirt just ahead of him. One figure was the raccoon from earlier and the other was a smaller mammal dressed in the full dark blue uniform of a ZPD officer.

"Judy!"

Judy Hopps looked up as Nick ran toward her.

"It's alright! I've cuffed him!" she called out.

Nick reached her position and found the raccoon lying face down in the dirt, his hands cuffed behind him and Judy's knee in his back. Nick breathed a quick sigh of relief and then had to catch his breath.

"Would this happen to be your suspect?" Judy said jestingly.

Nick flashed a quick smile.

"Are you alright, Carrots? He asked, looking her over as she got up. "You're looking a little dirty," he said, gesturing at her uniform.

"You know I grew up on a farm. I'm used to some dirt," Judy replied as she brushed off the front of her uniform.

In the distance, Nick heard another police siren approaching. He looked over at the suspect still lying on the ground.

"Let's get him back to the precinct," Nick said as he helped the raccoon to his feet.

Nick began steering the raccoon back toward the cruiser, and Judy walked along just behind them. Nick glanced back at her briefly.

"No complaints, Carrots, but what are you doing here? What happened to the school outreach thing?"

Judy looked up at him incredulously. "Do you know of any schools that are still in at five o'clock?"

"Oh yeah." They turned the corner from behind the building and the apartment complex entrance came back into view. "You see, I may have lost a few hours somewhere in there."

"So what are you saying?" Judy asked. The look in her eyes communicated the fact that she knew exactly what Nick was getting at.

"I'm sure that Chief Bogo will want an update on what I did today. I could really use this one."

Judy winked at him. "I was never here."

They reached Nick's cruiser and Nick helped the raccoon into the back. He closed the door and turned toward Judy as she was walking back to the other cruiser.

"Hey Carrots, why do you have that anyway? Nick asked, pointing at the cruiser.

"The kids wanted to see it!" Judy called back. "I'm just borrowing it for the day!"

"So you'll need to use my car again, then?"

"Your car? That's my car! _You're_ just borrowing it!" Judy said teasingly as she waved goodbye to him.

Nick chuckled and got back into his – no, _Judy's_ – cruiser. His mood instantly changed when he remembered the chase that he had just been involved in. _I guess the damage must not be that bad if she didn't notice it. Right?_

By this time, Officer Fangmeyer had caught up with them, but Judy waved him on. She then pulled out and headed in the direction of the precinct.

Nick picked up the radio that he had haphazardly thrown on the dashboard and called into Clawhauser to make sure he knew that the suspect was apprehended and that a tow truck needed to be sent for the crashed car. He then turned to address the raccoon that had remained suspiciously silent the entire time.

"Is there anything you want me to know about before I go check out your vehicle over there?" Nick asked, trying to be as professional as possible, but he couldn't hide the annoyance in his voice.

There was no response.

"Alright, can you tell me your name?" He paused. "Or at least how I can address you?"

"You're a fox." The voice that came from behind the partition was higher pitched than Nick expected.

"I'm a police officer," Nick asserted. "And you'll answer my questions."

"What are you doing with them? The police!?" Nick could hear legitimate anger building in the raccoon's voice.

"In just a moment, I am going to go over to that car and I going to find whatever you have in there. Is there anything you want me to know?" Nick felt that he was doing a good job of remaining calm.

"I'd would rather not talk to someone that would stab me in the back," came the response, followed by silence.

 _Fine_. Nick got out of the cruiser, steaming. He slammed the door shut. He was keenly aware that he shouldn't let things like this bother him, and in years past they wouldn't have. But recently, they had been, more and more.

He looked out toward the road and watched the cars whip by, their drivers going on about their day, barely cognizant of anything that was going on around them.

 _I'll make this city better one day at a time,_ Nick thought and then groaned internally at the saccharine nature of the idea.

Maybe Judy's attitude was rubbing off on him after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Judy arrived back at the precinct before Nick did. She parked the cruiser back in Officer Swinton's spot and got out.

 _Maybe I need to ask about trading with her permanently. That was a pretty comfortable seat_ , Judy thought.

She looked down at her uniform, which was still noticeably dirty from her confrontation with the raccoon earlier. She did her best to dust it off and to straighten her collar. Judy did not normally wear her dress blues on duty, but she had needed to look her best for her presentation earlier in the day. Now, her neck was starting to itch and Judy had to resist the urge of wanting to rip her tie off.

Judy walked inside the main station. Technically, she was now off-duty, but she had to wait for Nick to get back, so she headed to her office cubicle to get some paperwork done. After a while, she grew bored, so she meandered around, microwaving some carrots for a snack, chatting with Officer Higgins about his weekend plans, and eventually making it to the lobby. Behind the reception desk was a rather… _rotund_ cheetah eying a doughnut intensely. Just as he was about to bite into it, Judy called out to him.

"Clawhauser!"

Clawhauser's gaze shot over to her direction. "Hiya, li'l bunny!" he called back cheerfully. "It sounds like you had an eventful day!"

Judy skipped up to the front of the desk and looked up at Clawhauser.

"Those kids kept me busy all day! It was great! There seemed to be a ton of interest in police work." Judy fidgeted with her tie, working it loose. "You may have some visitors here very soon."

"Oooh, I can't wait!" Clawhauser replied while licking the crumbs around his mouth from the doughnut he had just inhaled. "And you also stopped an escaping suspect!"

Judy quickly raised a finger to her lips and tilted an ear in the general direction of Chief Bogo's office. "Shhhh! I showed up after Nick had already arrested him, remember?"

Clawhaused stared at her quizzically for a moment, then mouthed an exaggerated "Oh!" and leaned closer to Judy.

"Of course! I forgot," he whispered.

"Hopps!"

Both Judy and Clawhauser jumped at the sound of the deep voice coming from their right. Chief Bogo glared down at them from the balcony above, having seemingly materialized out of nowhere.

"Hey Chief Bogo!" Clawhauser was his usual jovial self around everyone, the chief included.

Chief Bogo ignored him and instead focused his attention on Judy. "My office. Now." He paused for a moment and then asked "where's Wilde?"

"Here, sir. At your service."

Judy turned toward where his voice had come from and saw Nick strolling toward them, one hand in his pocket.

"Good. You can join Officer Hopps in my office." Chief Bogo turned and disappeared from view as quickly as he came.

"After you," Nick said to Judy when he reached the front desk.

"I think he'll be more interested in talking to you," Judy replied and made a shooing motion toward Chief Bogo's office. Nick grinned and strolled forward.

"I hope not."

"See ya," Judy waved goodbye to Clawhauser and followed Nick up the stairs.

Chief Bogo's office was almost completely dark, with the only light source coming from the blinking notification light of the intercom on his desk. Judy contemplated leaving the door partly open for a second, but decided against it. Chief Bogo stared at them intensely from behind his desk, his face periodically basked in red, as Nick climbed onto the only seat available in the room, one that was designed for mammals much larger than himself, and then scooted over to make some room for Judy, who gladly jumped up beside him. They sat there for a moment and Judy could feel the buffalo's disapproval as he noticed the tie hanging loosely around her neck. He then glanced over at Nick's tie, which was seemingly always worn loose. Chief Bogo was obviously contemplating some kind of comment, but, in the end, said nothing.

"Say, Chief, what brings us all to your office on this beautiful day?" Nick asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"I heard that you two were involved in a chase today," Chief Bogo responded in a surprisingly measured and soothing tone.

"Well, sir, that's not exactly correct,' Judy chimed in, hurriedly. "You see, I showed up _after_ the chase was over."

 _Hopefully this works_ , Judy thought as she glanced over to Nick, who briefly flashed a sly smile in her direction.

"Is that so?" Chief Bogo responded, and Judy could tell that he was mulling her statement over. "Wilde," he said finally, turning his gaze to Nick. "It sounds like you're the one I need to talk to. Where are our suspects now?"

"Being booked right now, sir. Officer Fangmeyer volunteered to take care of it. We will begin interrogating them tomorrow."

"So everything is in order, then?"

"Yes. Is a _congratulations_ in order, sir?" Nick said, raising an eyebrow.

"I suppose so." Chief Bogo leaned back in his chair. "It seems that you successfully stopped a very dangerous situation before it could get out of hand. No one got hurt. Yes, everything is order."

 _Yes!_ Judy was pleasantly surprised by Chief Bogo's reaction. With luck, he wouldn't bother inquiring about what Nick was doing earlier in the day.

"Except for this!"

Judy jumped as Chief Bogo slammed an envelope-sized piece of paper on the desk in front of them. Judy leaned in to get a closer look. It was a photo. On it was the side view of a fairly junky looking car. Next to the car stood a weasel with his arms crossed and an agitated expression on his face. Judy's eyes gravitated to the front bumper of the car. Part of it was broken off and hung down, almost scrapping the ground. Judy winced.

 _Oh no._

"Explain yourself!" Chief Bogo rumbled.

She again looked to Nick. He was still eying the photo. Eventually, he sat up straight and looked Chief Bogo directly in the eyes.

"Sir, I made a calculated decision. The suspect was escaping. I needed to stop him as soon as possible, for the safety of everyone in the area. This car was preventing me from giving chase," he said, gesturing at the photo. "As you said, the situation could have turned so much worse if I didn't… do what I did."

Judy's eyes darted back to the chief, trying to gauge his reaction. He had his fist pressed hard on the desk and his eyes were wide and his heavy breathing communicated how incensed he was. After a moment, he let out a grunt and his expression softened.

"Duly noted." Chief Bogo sat back in his seat once more and let out a sigh. All of a sudden, he seemed more tired than Judy had ever seen him. "I'll get this cleaned up for you. You're dismissed. You too, Hopps."

Judy couldn't help but smile. The chief could be intimidating, but he had a softer side and was generally understanding when it came to any problems his officers had.

"Thank you, sir." Nick said as he jumped down from the chair. Chief Bogo had already picked up a case file and was paying them no mind.

Judy was the first to head out the door. Once she was out in the hallway, she turned back around to face Nick, and gave him a little approving nod. He mouthed "that was close" back to her and reached up for the handle to close the chief's door. Just then, Chief Bogo's voice bellowed back out at them.

"One more thing, Wilde!"

Judy tensed up and Nick turned to face the chief once more.

"Y-yes, sir?"

"Were there really no traffic violations on Herd Street today?"

"Believe it or not sir. Everyone was on their best behavior today. Not much I could do about it," Nick replied, his voice brimming with confidence.

For just a brief second, Judy worried that Chief Bogo was going to call Nick out for not doing his job, but he instead replied with a half-hearted "alright." Nick closed the door and tip-toed away. Perhaps she imagined it, but Judy thought she heard a laugh come from inside the office.

Nick and Judy hurried down the hall to the safety of the officer's lounge. Judy couldn't contain it any longer and let out a laugh of her own.

"Congratulations, Nick. You got away with sleeping on the job," she said, still giggling.

"Hey, now. It's not like I meant to. I think this might all be your fault." Nick scratched his chin, pretending to be in deep thought.

" _My_ fault that _you_ fell asleep?" Judy paused. "You know what? It is my fault," she said with another laugh. Judy suddenly grew more serious. "I'm sorry for making you work so hard," she said with all the sincerity in the world.

Nick rubbed the back of his head. Judy couldn't tell if her apology made him uneasy or not. "No need to apologize, Carrots. It needed to get done and you were busy today."

"It's not done yet," Judy replied, taking Nick's paw in her own. "If we hurry, we can finish everything at a reasonable hour tonight."

Without protest, Nick allowed Judy to lead the way out of the station and to the parking lot.

* * *

Judy pulled the cruiser up in front of the apartment building and shut off the engine. It was already dark outside but the parking lot they were in was brightly lit by a flood light. The building itself was short compared to other apartment complexes in the downtown area, having only six stories, and appeared to be fairly new. Each window had bright red brick trim around it, and the whole place seemed somewhat upscale. In the parking space adjacent to them sat Ewehaul truck.

"Home sweet home," Nick said, as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

They both got out of the cruiser and walked over to the Ewehaul. Nick opened up the back, revealing moving boxes stacked to the ceiling.

"Wow, Nick! You managed to do all this?" Judy was taken aback by just how much stuff was in there.

"You helped a little bit, Carrots," Nick replied teasingly.

Judy thought back to the previous day. She had started packing as soon as she had gotten home, but she had gotten a late start and it took a lot longer to get everything packaged than she had anticipated. Eventually, she had to accept Nick's offer to help, even though she hadn't wanted to bother him.

"How much stuff can you possibly have in that apartment of yours?" Nick had asked over the phone.

"More than I thought!" Judy stared at the pile of a dozen or so boxes that were probably to too heavy for her to carry down the stairs by herself. "I had my mattress to take care of. I needed to pack my bean bag chair. And I couldn't forget Rowdy!"

"Wait, you still have that thing?" Nick was referring to the giant plush bunny dressed in cowboy garb that Judy had won at the amusement park. Nick pulled no punches when he said that it had the creepiest smile he had ever seen plastered on its face. Judy thought it was adorable.

"We definitely won't have time to get it all in the morning," Judy said, ignoring Nick's question.

"You're sure that you have to be move out by tomorrow?" Nick asked.

"Absolutely. I'm shocked that I haven't gone hoarse from arguing with the management here." Judy glanced at her phone screen to check the time. _11:30._ "It's getting late. Are you sure you want to come over? Do _you_ have everything packed?"

Nick chortled. "Of course. Did you think I would procrastinate on this?" Judy later found out that he had indeed done just that.

Nick arrived at Judy's apartment a little after midnight. Despite her protests, he had insisted on taking care of everything himself, saying that Judy needed her sleep for the day ahead. She couldn't quite remember when she had fallen asleep, but she woke up that morning to a completely empty apartment. It even looked like the floor had been swept.

Judy looked over at Nick now. He still appeared really tired and Judy could tell that he was still slightly uneasy about the whole idea of moving. Impulsively, Judy jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into an embrace.

"Thank you so much for doing this!" she exclaimed, and watched as Nick hesitated for a moment before his features settled into a small smile.

"Don't thank me yet. All of this…" He motioned to the contents of the Ewehaul. "Needs to get up there." He pointed to the fourth floor of the building.

"Do you have the key?" Judy asked. She knew that Nick had driven the Ewehaul here in the morning on his way to work and had checked them in. Nick dug into his pocket and produced two identical keys. Judy reached to grab one, but he closed his paw before she could.

"Make sure that you don't lose this. I know that you have a hard time with that."

"Are you mocking me?" Judy pulled away and elbowed Nick playfully.

"I just know that once is a mistake, twice is two mistakes, and three times means you have a problem keeping track of keys." Nick tossed Judy the key and she grabbed it out of the air. "I don't want to have to bail you out again."

Judy turned away from Nick and started hopping toward the apartment building.

"Hey, Carrots, where are you going?"

"I'm going to go see what it looks like!" she called out over her shoulder. Behind her, Nick shrugged and started after her.

Judy reached the fourth floor and then stopped, realizing that she had forgotten the apartment number. She looked back down the stairwell and called down to Nick.

"Nick! What's the number again?"

"Four twenty six! Four-two-six!" he called back up to her, as he methodically worked his way up the stairs.

Judy skipped down the hall and skidded to a halt in front of the desired door. She fumbled with the key for a moment before the lock finally turned. She swung the door open and beheld the sight before her. Nick finally made it up the stairs and walked over to her.

"So what do you think?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Judy paused for a moment before exclaiming "I love it!"

She danced around the apartment, inspecting everything. A full kitchen? Check. _It'll be nice to eat something not out of microwave for once._ A couch? With a coffee table? Check and check. _That will be more comfortable than a wooden chair._ A bathroom? With a vessel sink? _And_ a full shower? Check, check, and check. _Anything is better than…_ Judy shuddered at the thought of the bathrooms at her old place. _Never mind._ She spun back to Nick who was still waiting in the doorway.

"It's even more perfect than I had imagined!"

Nick and Judy had spent the preceding couple of months shopping around for apartments, with none of the options standing out. They were always either too small, too far away from the precinct, or too expensive. Then one day, Judy just happened to drive by a billboard in the process of being taken down. The words on it had been stuck in her mind: _New plots available in Chestnut Farms!_ Judy brought it up to Nick the next morning.

"Something about it made it sound like home," she had said.

" _Chestnut_ Farms, not Carrot Farms, Carrots. Besides, there's a reason they were taking the sign down."

It was a good thing that Judy decided to call anyway. The next thing she knew, she was signing paperwork for the last available unit at the Chestnut Farms apartment complex.

Still, she hadn't seen the interior of their actual apartment until now. A big wave of relief rushed over Judy. Deep down, she had been very nervous about this whole move as well. It was a huge change for both her and Nick and she didn't know exactly how to feel. Standing in the living room right then and there, her nerves were eased somewhat. It felt right. It felt like home.

"Come on," Nick said to her. "Let's get everything moved in. I need my beauty sleep, you know."

"Hey Nick." Judy had turned away from him and was looking at the two doors toward the back that she hadn't gone into yet. "What bedroom do you want?"

"Do _I_ want?" Nick replied, raising one eyebrow.

"For the both of us, of course," Judy replied lively.

"Well, we'll have to figure that out later," Nick said as he walked out the door. Judy shrugged and followed out after him.

For the next hour or so, Nick and Judy moved the boxes from the truck into the apartment. Up the stairs. Down the stairs. Up the stairs again. Eventually, Judy set the last box down and fell back onto the couch in exhaustion. Nick came over and sat down beside her, resting his arm on the back of the couch. Everything was quiet for a moment.

The silence was interrupted by the sound of hooves coming down the hall. Soon, a llama poked his head in the doorway and looked around.

"Howdy. I saw y'all were moving in. Do you need any help?"

Judy involuntarily groaned. Nick flashed her a look and then hollered back "I think we're all good here, neighbor."

"Alrighty. I'll be seeing you." The llama disappeared from sight and Nick turned to Judy.

"Are you tired, Carrots?" He said soothingly.

Judy closed her eyes and nodded. "Mmmm-hmmm."

"You know that we still have to unpack everything, right?" Nick whispered.

Judy groaned again. _He's right, but it's just not going to happen right now_. Judy curled up into a ball on the couch and in the blink of an eye leaned her head on Nick's shoulder. She felt Nick tense up for a second, but then he relaxed. Judy felt his arm wrap around her and she wiggled in closer. Judy felt warm in Nick's embrace and she could feel him breathing in and out. It was getting harder and harder to fight the urge to sleep.

"It's alright. I'll get you up in the morning." Judy heard Nick's voice, but it sounded distant. She thought she muttered something in reply, but perhaps not. She felt Nick shift into a more comfortable position on the couch. For the first time in days Judy was able to relax. After all the stress she had been through, she wished that this moment would last forever, but her own tired body had other plans. _Everything_ _turned out alright_ , Judy thought as sleep overtook her.

* * *

The snow outside was falling harder now, to the point where the cars parked outside the window could no longer be seen, hidden behind a blanket of white. Crevan cocked an ear, listening to the wind whistle outside. _Just another night in Tundratown._

"Do you need anything else, sir?" The bartender, a grey wolf, turned to address the arctic fox while simultaneously cleaning the glassware in front of him.

"I think this will be it for tonight, Lou," Crevan replied before falling silent again, seemingly lost in thought. The bar was completely empty besides the two of them, and, outside of the occasional clink of a glass as Lou set it down, the only sound came from the wind outside. Even when the monotony was suddenly broken by the sound of the door to the bar opening, Crevan gave no indication that he even noticed. A dingo hurried inside, kicking snow off his paws as he went. In his hand was a much smaller, mouselike mammal, a dunnart, that he proceeded to set on the ground. The bartender did not acknowledge them as they trudged up to counter. It was obvious that they were not there for drinks.

The pair stopped when they were directly behind Crevan. It was the dingo that spoke first.

"The boss has a request of you," he said bluntly.

Crevan appeared to ignore him, taking another sip from the glass in front of him, before setting it down carefully. Finally, he spoke.

"Well? I'm waiting." He did not turn to address them; rather, he stared intensely at what little remained of his drink.

"He says to go through with the plan." The dingo was seemingly unaffected by the curt response he had just received. He carried himself with assurance. The dunnart appeared to be the opposite, as he was looking around nervously. He jumped when Crevan let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Why?" Crevan muttered to himself, as he finally turned around on his stool to to face the two mammals behind him.

"What prompted this, Devan?"Crevan said, directly addressing the dingo.

Devan cocked his head to the side and stared at Crevan quizzically. "Have you not heard what happened to the Cooper brothers?'

Crevan matched Devan's stare with an intense one of his own. "No," he said bluntly.

The dingo was clearly taken aback. He shot the dunnart a look. His previous confidence was gone; his face now wore an expression of uncertainty and perhaps a tinge of fear. It was clear that he was carefully mulling over his next words.

"They were… uh… picked up by the ZPD tonight." Devan's gaze dropped, anticipating a storm that never came his way. Instead, Crevan chuckled.

"They won't get anything out of those two. There's nothing to worry about!" Crevan's face broke into a wide, jagged smile. If he was trying to make Devan feel better about the situation, it had the opposite effect.

"The boss insists on this. We need to know what _they_ know." Devan had worked his gaze back up to meet Crevan's, and he added some force into his voice. " _I_ insist on this."

They stared intensely at each other for more than a few uncomfortable seconds. At long last, Crevan relented, turning back around to face the bar again. Behind him, Devan audibly let out a sigh of relief.

"You have something for me, don't you?" Crevan said, holding one paw up behind him in anticipation of receiving something.

Devan wordlessly handed him a manila folder. Crevan took it and immediately began flipping through the contents. Inside were profiles of various ZPD police officers. Their headshot photos jumped out at Crevan as he flipped through. It seemed as if they were all he was looking at, despite the paragraphs of information that lay under them. Suddenly, Crevan froze, his eyes locked on the profile picture of a certain red fox. _So that's what you've been up to._ Crevan threw his head back and let out a howling laugh, causing everyone in the bar to instinctively jump. Suddenly, Crevan stood up and turned to face them once more.

"Alright. I've found my guy." Crevan turned to the dunnart, acknowledging his presence for the first time. "Is this your guy?"

Devan answered the question, stepping in to help the dunnart who was squirming under Craven's critical gaze. "This is Maxwell Dunn, our resident tech expert." He paused. "He does good work."

"That so?" Crevan's eyes were still burning holes through the diminutive mammal. "Where are you from, Maxwell?"

"O-Outback Island, sir!" Maxwell piped up finally, his voice shaking almost as badly as his legs.

Crevan walked past him without acknowledging his previous statement and headed for the door. He stopped right as he a cracked the door open. "This is the best he can send me…" Crevan muttered under his breath. The sound of the howling wind outside filled the bar and snow began to filter in.

"Be ready, Maxwell." Crevan lowered his voice and was barely audible above the wind.

And with that, he disappeared into night, leaving behind a confused dingo and a very worried dunnart.

* * *

Judy's eyes opened slowly and it took them a moment to adjust. She was still on the couch, but there was a blanket over her now and a certain fox was nowhere to be seen. Judy sat up. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows and everything was still in the same position that they had left it in last night. _Wait! It's morning!_ Internally, Judy panicked a little as she remembered that she hadn't set an alarm. _Nick was supposed to get me up! What time is it?_ Judy fumbled for her phone. It wasn't in her pocket. She glanced around and finally located the phone on the floor beside her – it must have fallen out during the night – and checked the time. _7:16. Alright, I'm fine on time, if I hurry._ Judy and Nick's shift didn't begin until eight, but, as always, they needed to make sure they got there a little early, lest they risk being reprimanded by Chief Bogo. _Speaking of Nick, were is he?_

Just then, the front door swung open with a creak, causing Judy to sit straight up. Nick stood in the doorway, fumbling with the key in the door lock, and gripping a brown paper bag in his mouth. He looked over to Judy and, upon noticing that she was awake, quickly grabbed the bag with his paw.

"What's that?" Judy asked as she got up off the couch.

"I figured you would need something for breakfast, Carrots. Or did you not think that far ahead?" he replied.

Judy paused. She really hadn't given it that much thought. She looked at the bag as Nick came over to her.

"Yak in the Box? Classy."

Nick shrugged. "Beggars can't be choosers." He set the food down on the table, produced a couple stacks of pancakes, and then came to sit down beside Judy. For the first time, she noticed that he was a plain t-shirt and shorts. _He must have changed sometime last night. Wait a second…_ Judy looked down at what she was wearing.

"Did I really sleep in my uniform?"

"Yep. It would appear so," Nick replied, brushing Judy's shoulder mockingly. "Now it's all wrinkled."

"It's alright. I probably won't wear this again for a while anyway," Judy said as she inspected her uniform.

"Aw, I think it looks nice." The cooing nature of Nick's words surprised her.

"You're sweet." Judy turned way, half embarrassed, half flattered. "But there's no way you can force me to wear this tie again today."

Nick threw his hands up, indicating that there was no way he would even try. Judy took one bite of pancake, then another. It was better than she had anticipated. Judy glanced over and saw that Nick was checking his phone, presumably for the time.

"I'm going, I'm going!" Judy exclaimed quickly, in between bites.

Deep down, she knew that today was going to be an eventful day for the both of them. There were two particular raccoons that she was interested in hearing from.


	3. Chapter 3

Judy clapped her paws together as the ZPD precinct came into view in the distance. She glanced over at the digital clock on the dashboard of the cruiser. _7:58_ flashed back at her.

"We're going to be on time!"

"Just barely," Nick replied, as he drove the cruiser through the front gate and angled for Judy's parking spot.

Earlier, Judy had rushed to get ready, hurriedly changing back into her normal field uniform, while Nick pulled the cruiser around the front of the apartment to meet her. Now, she finished fastening the straps on her vest and prepared to jump out of the cruiser.

The cruiser lurched to a halt in the parking space and Nick and Judy threw off their seatbelts and leapt from the cruiser.

Judy ran ahead of Nick and into the station. Behind her, Nick called out "it's not that big of a deal, Carrots!" but Judy noticed that he was still following hastily behind her. They ran through the hallway, briskly walked through the lobby, tiptoed past Chief Bogo's office, and finally ended up at the holding cells.

Officer Swinton was sitting behind the check-in desk in front of the holding cells staring at the computer monitor in front of her intensely. When she heard Nick and Judy approaching, she reached for a clipboard, a pen, and a set of keys, and then set them on the counter, all without taking her eyes off of the monitor.

"Officer Hopps. Officer Wilde. Sign in please."

Judy took the pen and looked at the clock on the wall. _8:01_. Judy pursed her lips. _So close._

"Are you going to be speaking with those two?" Officer Swinton asked, gesturing in the direction of the cells just out of sight around the corner.

Judy nodded, and turned the pen over to Nick to sign in.

"Good luck," Officer Swinton replied, shaking her head.

"What do we have to deal with?" Nick asked as he finished signing the paper.

After a couple of mouse clicks, Swinton turned the monitor toward them.

"Nate and Nicko Cooper, twin brothers. No priors on either. Lots of traffic violations though. Speeding, illegal parking, illegal modification, you name it." Officer Swinton shrugged. "They sure were uncooperative though. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more to their backgrounds than we have here."

"Duly noted." Nick grabbed the keys and bowed under the head-level turnstile that separated the reception area from the cells themselves and turned the corner to where Officer Swinton had pointed.

Judy made a move to follow him, but spun around to Officer Swinton again, remembering something.

"You _do_ have thenicest car on the force, by the way," Judy said, backpedaling under the gate.

"Told you so," came Officer Swinton's reply as she once again became absorbed in whatever was on her computer screen.

Judy joined Nick in front of two adjacent cells. The cells themselves were both wide and tall, being designed to hold even the largest of mammals. They were completely bare inside, except for a long metal bed that ran along the wall. In the leftmost cell, a raccoon lay on the bed with his paws behind his head. The second raccoon stood in the adjacent cell, his head pressed up against the bars. His eyes were closed and he looked almost like he was sleeping. Nick paced in front of them for a couple of seconds. There was no way that they hadn't noticed the two cops just outside of their cells.

Nick stopped in front of the left cell. "Nate," he said, pointing at the raccoon laying down. He turned to the next cell. "Nicko. Did I get that right?"

The raccoon's eyes shot open. He pushed himself away from the bars and yawned.

"Do you hear something, Nate?" he said while making exaggerated stretching motions.

"Let me look." The other raccoon sat up and his eyes darted all around his cell, before finally settling on Nick, who gave him a little wave.

"Oh look, a cop," Nate said, before he noticed Judy positioned behind Nick. "Two cops, actually."

"Ah, they're going to go for old 'good cop, bad cop' routine," Nicko responded. "Which one do ya think is the bad cop?"

"I dunno. They both look like bad cops to me. I mean, look at this. Look at this!"

"I see them! A rabbit cop! Well I never. There's no way a rabbit can be a cop, let alone a good one." Judy began thumping her foot. She did not like where this conversation was heading.

Nicko shot Nick a piercing glare, and his upper lip curled in obvious anger. "And a fox. This one's the bad cop. Lying, deceitful, backstabbing…"

Nick held up his paw, and the raccoon bit his tongue, his jaw still quivering. "If you want to talk about your feelings, we can do it in the interrogation room," he said calmly, not letting himself be visibly bothered by the raccoon's outburst. "I was going to ask who wanted to go first, but it appears that you have a lot to say, Nicko."

The raccoon dropped his head, staring at the floor. "It's 'Nick-oh', not 'Neek-oh.' Do you have a problem pronouncing that?"

"No problem," Nick replied as he unlocked the cell door. "We will have a problem if the two of you don't have your stories straight though. Come on, 'Neek-oh.'"

Nick and Judy escorted the surprisingly obedient raccoon into the interrogation room. Inside was a small metal table with chairs on either side and a single light hanging overhead, leaving the walls cloaked in shadow. Nick guided Nicko to one chair and then joined Judy just outside the door.

"Do you want to do the questioning, good cop?" he whispered to her.

"Well, I wasn't there so you should start and I'll step in if I have to," she replied. "Oh, and I'll take care of the recording too.'

Nick nodded and they went into the room together, with Judy closing the door behind them.

Nick sat down, spread his paws on the table and eyed the raccoon for a moment before speaking.

"Let's go over why you're here. Yesterday, you were illegally parked in a fire lane. When a ZPD officer approached you, you and your brother both took off. One high speed chase later, and here we are. My question is simple. Why? Why would you run?"

Nicko squirmed in his seat and refused to look Nick in the eyes. "Well… uh… you could say that we have had some… _unpleasant_ encounters with your officers in the past."

Nick raised an eyebrow. "You were scared?'

Nicko nodded. "In fact, I can safely say that I have never had a positive interaction with the police. Ever. So I wasn't keen on talking to you guys." He sighed. "But here I am."

"So you're saying that your first instinct was to run? That seems… irrational," Judy chimed in. "I don't understand."

"I wouldn't expect you too, rabbit," he snapped at her. Nick shot him a glare, and the raccoon met his eyes for the first time. "But I thought a fox would understand. I feared that things might escalate. We could, you know, get accused of more than just a stupid traffic violation. Just for being… you know. Us." He pointed at his own face.

To Judy, Nick appeared lost in thought. He didn't move for what seemed like the longest time. Finally, he spoke.

"I do. I understand your hesitation. But I'm not dumb." Nick leaned in closer. "What you did was extreme. There has to be a reason beyond you not feeling sociable."

Nicko sat back in his chair, shying away from Nick. "You tell me Mr. Fox. What other reasons would I have?" When Nick didn't respond immediately, he added, "didn't find anything in the car, did you?"

Nick groaned internally. It was true that neither he nor Officer Fangmeyer had found anything incriminating. The raccoon clearly knew how the game was played; Nick could see him gaining confidence with every passing second.

"Let's see. You definitely have an evasion charge on me, but there was no property damage and no one got hurt. I should be able to plead that one down. Heck, I might not even serve time…"

Nick barely heard the raccoon's ramblings. He was too busy thinking back to the previous day. Nicko had unwittingly reminded him of something that had felt slightly amiss…

"I'll definitely lose my license though. That sucks. It's never stopped me in the past, though. Oh wait, there is that fence. And the fire hydrant. Maybe I can…"

"Alright, that's enough." Nick snapped back to reality. "That's all I need from you right now. You can go back to your cell now." Nick stood up and motioned for Nicko to do the same.

The raccoon stared at him, dumbfounded. "But we just got here!" He stood up and let Nick guide him to the door. "You really are a bad cop."

Judy opened the door for the two of them. As he passed by, Nick noticed that she wore the same look of confusion that Nicko had.

 _Just trust me. I know what I'm doing. I think._

Nick deposited Nicko back in his cell and jogged back around to the front desk.

"Hey Swinton! I need you to look something up for me." He pulled up in front of the desk, and was very quickly joined by Judy.

"Nick, what's going on? What are you thinking?"

"That raccoon asked me if I found anything in the car."

Judy nodded, still confused.

"Well, that's the thing, Carrots. There was nothing in there. No crumbs on the floorboard. No drink in the cup holder. Nothing in the glove compartment."

Judy squinted at him. "Maybe he just likes having a clean car."

Nick shook his head. "What I'm trying to say is that it seemed new. Or at least not used. I doubt he had it for very long." Nick turned to address Officer Swinton. "Can you give me the history report for both of their cars?"

"Sure thing." As she clicked away, Nick continued.

"It's not only that, but also the type of car it was. Think back. These guys have been hit with countless speeding and illegal modification tickets. If I had to guess, I would say that they are gearheads. And yet, they were driving the most nondescript cars imaginable yesterday."

"Fifteen-year-old Zooyotas, to be precise," Officer Swinton interjected. "Here's your report, Wilde," she said, squinting at her computer screen. "Huh, it seems that you were right. Both cars were purchased just last week from a dealership." She scrolled down further. "Some place called Prestige Used Cars."

"Where?"

"Oh, uh… Outback Island."

Nick flipped around to Judy. "That's where we're going Carrots. Are you ready?"

Nick was in full detective mode. Judy couldn't help but be impressed, although she wondered whether Nick was perhaps taking things a bit too quickly.

"Wait, wait, wait. Our suspects are here. We should follow through with them a little more thoroughly," she said, holding a paw up in front of her as if she were directing traffic.

Nick shook his head. "We won't get anything out of them. Trust me, I know their type. If there's something else going on here, we're going to have to figure it out for ourselves."

Judy studied Nick's face closely. He obviously believed in what he was saying.

"Alright. Outback Island it is."

* * *

The glare from the sun was blinding as the cruiser emerged from the tunnel. Judy brought the sun visor down and glanced over at Nick in the passenger's seat next to her. He had his paws behind his head and it was hard to tell whether he was sleeping or not, as his eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses.

Sunglasses definitely aren't a bad idea today, Judy thought.

Despite the fact that it wasn't even ten o'clock yet, the sky was a bright blue and it was obviously very hot outside, as there was steam coming off the road in front of them. Just up ahead, the mainland of Zootopia ended, giving way to the straight that lay between it and Outback Island. Connecting the two was a long, pearl white suspension bridge that disappeared into the middle of a cluster of skyscrapers on the other shore. The sleek, modern skyline over the crystal clear water always managed to take Judy's breath away.

The drive from the precinct had been quicker than Judy anticipated, as they had managed to avoid the worst part of rush hour. Currently, the roads were relatively clear and traffic flowed smoothly. Judy contemplated rolling down the window, before she remembered that they were still on the job. A joy ride would have to wait until later.

Judy looked over to Nick and noticed that he appeared slightly uneasy. Actually, now that she thought about it, she was getting really good at reading him. Given his con artist background, this realization was slightly surprising to her.

"What's up, Nick?"

Nick stared out the side window, watching the opulent glass buildings whip by. "I haven't been here for the longest time."

"Did you have a bad experience or something? Here?"

Outback Island had the reputation of being the nicest district within Zootopia, even in comparison to downtown. In fact, the district seemed to operate more or less independently of the rest of the city. The area Judy was currently driving through was a business district not unlike downtown Zootopia, just on a smaller scale. It also had a reputation of being much quieter and safer than its counterpart. In fact, in the nearly two years that Judy had been on the force, she had only been on two other assignments to the district.

"I feel a little out of my element. I'll just leave it at that." Nick fell silent again, still staring out the window. Judy didn't give his comments any further thought.

They continued going straight through downtown until mammals became more and more sparse. Commercial buildings were replaced by residential buildings – still upscale Judy noticed, despite being so far away from the district center – and the flow of traffic picked up significantly.

"Alright, I'm going to need directions, Nick."

"Sure thing, Carrots." Nick pulled out his phone and tapped away for a moment. "Let's see. It says that we'll need to do a one hundred eighty degree turn on Market Street."

It took Judy a second to process what he had just said.

"Wait. It's back there?" There had been no indication of a car dealership anywhere. No sign on the side of the road. No cars sitting out on a lot. Nothing.

"I would think that's what that means." Nick had the same puzzled look on his face as Judy.

Eventually, Judy managed to get the cruiser turned around and headed back in the direction they had come from.

"Turn right here!" Judy heeded Nick's instruction and found herself heading down a narrow residential street. At the end of the street was a large dirt lot that just so happened to be filled with cars.

"Huh. I guess that's it," Nick said.

Judy pulled into the lot and looked around. In front of her were rows of cars of various shapes and sizes. Judy estimated that the inventory must have been close to a hundred, and not one looked newer than ten years old.

"This isn't what I expected it to look like at all." Judy shut the engine off and turned to Nick. "Do you find it suspicious that a car dealership would be hidden back here?"

Nick nodded. "I was wondering about that. I think I might have some ideas." He opened the door to get out.

Judy reached behind him, opened the glove compartment, and produced one of Nick's extra pair of sunglasses. She smiled as she slipped them on, as Nick stared at her, his mouth agape.

"Hey Carrots, what do you think you're doing? Are you trying to copy my style?"

"It's bright outside, so I figured I would try this. How do I look?" Judy adjusted the sunglasses on her nose, as they were just a tad too large.

"If you're going for intimidating, you've got it. You look like a cop that has seen some things."

Judy made a face at him and got out of the cruiser. Nick grinned and did the same. "Can you even see out of those?" he called across to her.

"I can see that there is still a dent in my front bumper that needs to be taken care of." Nick just sighed in response. "Well played," he muttered under his breath.

Judy looked further around noticed what looked like a mobile office trailer near the back of the lot.

"I guess we should say hi."

As Nick and Judy approached the trailer, the door opened and cougar emerged and walked down the metal stairs to meet them. He was tall and carried himself with confidence. His expensive looking suit clashed with the drab nature of his surroundings.

"How can I help you… officers?" He paused as he finally noticed their uniforms and badges.

Judy took the lead. "Can we have a moment of your time? We would like to ask you a few questions."

"Shouldn't be a problem. I'm Jason Koleman, by the way," he said, bending over to extend a paw downward for Judy to shake.

Judy shot her paw up and allowed him to take it in his own. His grip was very gentle, but she could feel his strength behind it. He could probably give Office McHorn a run for his money at arm wrestling. "I'm Officer Hopps." She motioned in Nick's direction with her other arm. "And this is my partner, Officer Wilde."

Jason let go of her paw. "Firstly, I feel that I have to say that I am in no way responsible for what customers do with my vehicles."

Judy shook her head. "Of course not." She needed to keep him from feeling the need to get defensive. "But could you give us some information about them?"

"I suppose so. What do you need to know?"

"We believe that two brothers purchased cars from here last week."

"Ah yes." Judy studied his face, looking for a reaction that might be a tip-off. Nothing came, however. "The Cooper brothers, I believe. I have the paperwork, if that's what you want."

"We were actually wondering if you could tell us more about them. Did they say anything while they were here?

"Anything that made you think, 'oh, they're criminals?'" Nick chimed in for the first time, in his usual wise-cracking manner.

"Not exactly. They didn't say much at all. It seemed like they had already made their minds up about what they wanted to get, so they were in and out."

"They had already made their minds up?" Judy hesitated for a moment, deciding whether to press him on the matter. She decided to go for it. "See, we actually had a hard time finding this place. How would they know about you, let alone what vehicles you have here?"

Jason's eyes narrowed and his tone became sharper. "Oh, that's easy. I do all my advertisement online and you can see the entire inventory on my website." The way he said it gave Judy the impression that he did not like the direction she had tried to take the conversation.

"Are you the only one that works here?" Nick asked, stepping in for Judy as she gathered her thoughts.

"Yes. I do everything around here. This whole thing is basically my little project."

"Ohhh." Something about the way he said it piqued Judy's interest. "How is that working out for you?" she asked.

"I do alright. Why do you ask?" It was clear that Jason would much rather talk about literally anything else besides himself.

"Oh… uh… I just didn't expect someone like you to be in a place like this." Everything instantly became silent. Judy assumed that her comment has perfectly innocuous, but the pained look that appeared on Jason's face plus the quick glare that Nick shot her said otherwise.

"Are… are those all the questions you have for me, officers? I really should be getting some work done."

Judy fell silent and Nick muttered an affirmative. Jason turned and headed back for his office, stopping when he reached the front steps.

"You guys probably came from downtown, right? I'm sorry that you came so far for nothing." And with that he disappeared back inside the trailer.

Judy and Nick stood there for a couple of seconds before wordlessly heading back for the cruiser.

Judy was the first one to break the silence.

"Wha… what happened back there?" she asked as she put on her seatbelt.

Nick clicked his tongue a couple of times, thinking of exactly what to say.

"I think you insulted him," he said finally.

"Wait, what? What did I say?"

"Let me see if I remember this correctly. I think you said: 'I wouldn't expect to find someone like you in a place like this,'" Nick said in a singsong voice, his best impression of Judy.

Judy mulled it over for a second. "Don't see anything wrong with it?" Nick asked.

"Not really. I was trying to say that he seemed above being a used car salesman. I didn't mean anything else by it."

"I know, I know. I'm just going to tell you how he probably interpreted it." Nick leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling. "He thought you were saying that he doesn't belong _here_."

"Here?"

"Outback Island. You know, a place that's not traditionally home to a lot of cougars." Nick turned his head toward her. "Or predators in general, for that matter."

Judy met his gaze. "I don't want to sound naïve, but isn't that the great thing about Zootopia? Everyone is welcome here and you can be anything you want to be. Why would he be uptight about living in Outback Island?"

"This city promises a lot. A place where we can all live in peace and harmony. You know, the idea that there would should be a district for everyone. And yet, there's a contradiction in there."

Judy thought she knew where Nick was going. She had heard similar complaints before. "You mean the idea that each district has developed its own identity?"

Nick nodded. "Kind of. Let's just say that some districts are more… selective… than others. Not everywhere wants to be as diverse as Savanna Central."

 _Hmpf._ Unfortunately, he was right.

"If you want to live somewhere… want to _be something_ out of the norm, it can be hard." There was a raw emotion in Nick's voice that Judy had heard only a couple of times before.

Nick and Judy just sat there for a while. They both knew what that experience was like all too well.

"Should I go apologize to him?" Judy asked.

"Honestly, I'm afraid that you would make it worse."

Judy hung her head.

"Carrots, I didn't mean it like that." Now Nick's voice was full of concern. _Is he really worried that he hurt my feelings?_

Judy took a deep breath. "Nick. I've learned a lot from you."

"Aww, you flatter me."

Judy looked deeply into his unblinking green eyes. "I'm still learning. Everyday."

"That's all we can do." He flashed her that sly smile that she loved so much.

Judy started the cruiser. "What's our next move?"

Nick shrugged. "Let's get back to the precinct. I have some ideas. Well, one idea in particular."

"Am I going to like it?"

"Maybe, but I don't think he likes you," Nick said with a grin.

 _Oh great._

* * *

Nick sat back in his chair and stared at the papers in front of him. After a while, they started to blur together and Nick's mind began to wander.

 _What if there is nothing more to this than two knuckleheads making a bad decision? Perhaps I'm wasting my time…_

"Nick."

Nick shot straight up in his seat and instinctively pretended to be typing on his keyboard.

"Psssst. Nick. You're off the clock now."

Judy's voice brought Nick back to his senses. For the past several hours, he had been passing the time until his shift was over by trying to catch up on his paperwork. Earlier, he had changed out of his uniform and into his usual, more comfortable, casual attire, but it almost seemed like doing so had torpedoed his productivity. Now, he glanced down at stack of papers that were still unfinished in the draw of his desk. _Oh well. It's the thought that counts._

Nick swiveled his chair toward Judy's desk, which lay about five feet to the right of his own. She was watching him closely, her chin resting on her paw. Nick stretched and yawned silently, much to Judy's chagrin.

"Well that was a productive day!" Nick stood up and organized the papers on his desk. "I'll be off then."

Judy got up and followed Nick out of the work room and down the hall toward the lobby.

"Don't you think I should go with you? You know, to patch things up?" Judy asked as they walked.

"Trust me, he's not exactly reasonable when it comes to you. You don't want to hear half the things he says about you or the ZPD."

Judy's nose twitched and her eyes brightened. "I know! You should invite him over for dinner." Nick couldn't tell if Judy was joking or not. He let out a single laugh. Judy glared at him. _Oh wait, she's serious._ "Fine. Fine. I'll ask."

They reached the lobby and stopped in front of the reception desk.

"Alright. I shouldn't be gone that long so…"

"Judy! Hey, Judy! Oh, and Nick too!"

Clawhauser slid over from the other side of the reception desk until he was within earshot of the two of them.

"Hey, big guy," Nick replied.

"What are you two up to?" Clawhauser asked with a big grin plastered on his face.

"Nick here was just about to go pursue a lead in a case!" Judy responded, seeming a lot more chipper than she had been just a moment before.

"Look at you! Always working!"

"Haha, that's me!" Nick rubbed the back of his head. Clawhauser was always so enthusiastic about everything.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I'll take the subway, so this shouldn't take that long," Nick said, turning back to Judy. "I should be home soon to help you finish unpacking."

Judy smiled at him and nodded. All of a sudden, a sound not unlike air escaping from a bicycle tire emanated next to them.

"Ooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh…"

Nick and Judy slowly turned their heads to look at Clawhauser. His eyes were as large as saucers and darted between the two of them.

"Home… unpacking…" Clawhauser flashed an even bigger smile than usual. "Are… are you two living together?"

Nick and Judy flashed each other horrified glances. "D-Don't say anything… I mean no… I mean, _maybe_." Nick stumbled over his own words.

"When were you planning on telling me? I can't…"

Judy leaned in toward the cheetah. "Clawhauser. We would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone else. Just for the moment. Alright?"

Clawhauser nodded vigorously in agreement. "Is… is there something more going on between you than I thought? Awwwwww…" He had his hands on his cheeks in surprise.

"Um… I guess I should be leaving now. I'll let you two finish this discussion," Nick said, pointing at Judy and Clawhauser. He gave Judy a little wave, which she returned, and started walking to the front doors of the lobby.

"Bye Nick! Have fun with… whatever it is that you're doing." Nick gave a little two-figure salute behind him to Clawhauser, but kept walking.

If he was being completely honest with himself, the exchange with Clawhauser had made him nervous. The cheetah had a pretty deserved reputation of being a blabbermouth. Nick estimated the chances of him keeping things a secret at approximately zero percent. Nick was more than a little fearful to learn how his fellow officers would react.

Nick decided that he wouldn't let it bother him at the moment, though. Finnick would just probably laugh at him if he knew how thin his skin had become recently.


	4. Chapter 4

"That looks… glorious?"

The artwork on the side of Finnick's van seemed to jump out at Nick, threatening to overwhelm him. A giant, musclebound fox catching lightening in his paws while a volcano erupted behind him? It was quite possibly the most garish, outlandish thing he had ever seen. The little fox had really outdone himself this time.

Nick walked around to the back of the van and tapped on the door. He gave it a second, but heard no movement on the inside. _I guess he decided to actually use his apartment for once._ Nick strolled over to the side of the alley where the van was parked and knocked on the nearest door. After a moment, he heard a grumble inside and soon enough, the door opened to reveal Finnick, who was rubbing his eyes and had one of his large ears matted down.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" He blinked rapidly when he saw Nick. "Sup."

Nick forced his way past Finnick and threw himself onto the recliner in the middle of the room with a thud.

"I do have an idea what time it is. It's five o'clock. What are you planning on doing tonight that requires sleeping through the beautiful day?"

Finnick closed the door and eyed Nick suspiciously. "Is this guy Nick the officer or Nick the hustler?" he said bluntly.

"Let me introduce myself. Hello, I'm Nicholas P. Wilde. I come in peace."

Finnick snorted, looking at Nick sprawled out in his chair, one leg dangling over the armrest. "This is not what I thought a police invasion of my home would look like."

Nick glanced around while barely moving his head. "I like what you've done with the place." Finnick's apartment, in reality, was more akin to a motel room. The only furniture in the place was a bed in the corner of the room, a small nightstand, and the chair that Nick currently resided in. The place was drab and dusty and the armrest that Nick had his leg over was patched up with duct tape. Nick felt at home. Probably more so than Finnick, who had a habit of splitting time between sleeping here or in his van. Nick had crashed at Finnick's more times than he cared to admit.

He adjusted in the seat, trying to find the spot he had broken in a long time ago. "Is that a new calendar?" he asked Finnick.

The fox shrugged. "I needed something to cover up the hole in the wall," he said bluntly.

Nick chuckled to himself. _That's resourceful, I guess._ "Anyway, you never answered my question. Whaddya doing tonight?"

"Nothing illegal. Just taking advantage of the fact that mammals tend to be a little looser with money on Friday nights. For whatever reason."

"For whatever reason. Ha. Wait. You know that it's Thursday, right?"

Finnick blinked at him. "Huh. You woke me up earlier than I thought."

Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm glad to hear that you're working so hard."

"I take what I do very seriously." Finnick hesitated for a moment. "Do you want in?"

Finnick's words caught Nick off guard. Not the fact that he asked, as Nick had been expecting as much. Rather, it was the fact that he felt a pang of longing that was surprising to him. Saying yes was really, really tempting.

"You know I can't." Nick tilted his head back over the top of the recliner to meet Finnick's eyes. "I have a responsibility to more than just myself now."

Finnick huffed at him. "That doesn't sound like the Nick I remember." His voice dropped even lower than normal. "The Nick I knew would never pass up a hustle."

Nick rubbed his eyes. He was still tired from the previous day's events. He was having trouble formulating a response to Finnick's statement. All of a sudden, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Nick's eyes met Finnick's as he reached for it.

"It's her, isn't it? That bunny of yours?"

Nick hurriedly looked at his phone. It was, in fact, Judy. She had left him a text. _Call me when you can!_ That was all it said. Nick turned back to Finnick, who was shaking his head at him.

"This is all her fault, you know," Finnick said, with an air of contempt in his voice. "You would never be a cop if it wasn't for her." Perhaps there was a hint of jealousy in his words as well.

"If I recall correctly, I have you to thank as well," Nick retorted.

Finnick was silent for a moment, his features caught in a mixture of emotions.

"Is this want you really want?" he asked, casting a cold stare in Nick's direction. "Working for them?"

"Yes. Yes it is."

"I don't believe you Nick. Not for one second. How long have I know you? You never once expressed a desire to help anyone but yourself."

 _Well, that's not exactly true._ Nick sat up in the recliner. "I guess you haven't known me long enough." His mind flashed to the handkerchief in his pocket. "This is what I've always wanted to do. Deep down"

Finnick studied Nick closely, his eyes working up and down like he was looking for a tell or a giveaway that he could call Nick out on. Finally, he spoke. "You know I make more money than you now, right?"

Nick smirked back at him. "Before or after taxes?"

Finnick walked over, threw himself back on the bed, and stared at the ceiling.

"Hey Finnick." Nick suddenly remember what Judy had asked him to do earlier. "Do you want to come over for dinner sometime? To check out the new place. I have a kitchen now, can you believe that? I can make really good seafood. I know how much you like that."

Nick trailed off and Finnick still stared at the ceiling.

"You finally made it out, you con artist."

"What's up?"

"You. You have a real job. A real place to live. Someone that cares about you. You've conned them all, fox."

 _Is… Is Finnick jealous? Of me?_

"I haven't done anything. I just made a choice." Nick sat up and put on his best serious face. "You can make that choice too."

Finnick snorted. "Wow. Working for the police really has made you out of touch. You didn't always have a choice. It fell into your lap. Me? I don't have your luxury."

"What? What luxury" Nick was puzzled.

"Your precious Judy." Finnick practically growled the words. "You wouldn't be an officer without her. You couldn't be one without her!"

Nick felt a pang of guilt deep within himself. Finnick was absolutely right. There was no way the ZPD would have accepted him without her recommendation. They had overlooked more than a few things when they hired him.

"Me? I have no options," Finnick continued. "No education, no experience, no credit…" He was getting more emotional than Nick had seen him in a long time.

"Hey, hey, hey, big guy. I can help you now."

"Help? I don't want your help. I don't _need_ your help." Finnick stood up on the bed – Nick had to admit that he looked pretty adorable – and began pacing about. "I like what I do. I'm good at it." He stopped and glared down at Nick. "You're going to need _my_ help."

Nick glared back at him. "Oh yeah?"

"No matter what you do, no matter how you try to act, you're still a fox. This city doesn't like you. The people you help. Your cop friends. Your Judy. It's all a façade." Finnick laughed to himself and Nick gritted his teeth. "It'll come crashing down sooner or later. And you're going to come crawling back here."

That was it. Nick had had enough. "Probably not before this building comes crashing down on your head." He got up and stomped toward the door.

As he stepped outside, he heard Finnick mutter something behind him.

"You've changed Nick."

"You're right," Nick called back over his shoulder. "You wanna know why I really came here?" He spun around in front of Finnick's van. The diminutive fox was now standing in the doorway, glaring at him. "I needed help on a case."

"So you did come as Nick the officer!" Finnick hissed under his breath.

"I figured that you just might know something, being the upstanding member of society you are."

And with that, Nick turned and heard Finnick slam the door behind him.

Nick stormed off. He paid no attention to where he was going; he couldn't think straight after what had just happened. Nick squeezed his eyes shut and let out an internal shout of anger. The next thing he knew, his feet flew out from beneath him as he tripped over a curb. He careened into a light post, and just barely caught himself, narrowly avoiding face planting into the sidewalk. _Huff. Huff._ Nick listened to the sound of his own labored breathing. It was enough to bring him back to his senses.

 _Nick, you idiot._

Nick worked his way upright, visibly shaking.

 _I went way overboard._

Nick thought back to what had happened. The conversation had swung so fast that he barely had any time to process it while it was happening. One thing was certain: Finnick had touched a nerve.

 _Am I really that insecure?_

Nick sighed. He was. He worried every day. He worried that the kindness his fellow officers showed him was just an act they put on. He worried about what they said behind his back. He worried about his relationship with Judy. What would everyone's reaction be if they knew? Would Judy treat him differently? It had gotten to the point that he would get headaches. He worried that one day, everyone would snap to their senses and start treating him like the shifty, untrustworthy fox that he used to see himself as.

Nick staggered forward for a couple of steps before he found his balance. He ignored the handful of stares that were directed his way. He tried to not give them any thought. All he could do was keep moving forward.

* * *

"Next stop: Savanna Central," came the automated voice over the intercom.

Nick stared down at the floor of the subway car. It was just about the only thing that he could do. He was sandwiched in between a rhino and horse. Looking up would probably be a less than pleasant experience for him. Mentally, he was still in the midst of processing exactly what went down at Finnick's. He racked his brain for anything to take his mind off of it. He reached into his pocket for his cellphone, remembering Judy's message from earlier.

"Hello?" Just hearing Judy's voice instantly made Nick feel a little better.

"Hey Carrots. You told me to call?"

"Yeah." In the background, Nick could hear the clinking sounds of her moving plates around. "How was Finnick? Did he have any ideas?"

Nick hesitated. The last thing he wanted at the moment was to make Judy worried about him.

"Oh… uh… he was fine. You know him. He didn't have any leads."

"Is something wrong, Nick?" Judy's concern oozed through the phone and threatened to suffocate Nick.

 _Oof. Is it that obvious?_

"What? Nothing's wrong. I'm just tired is all."

"Nick, be straight with me." _Wow, I can't con anyone anymore._ "Is Finnick involved in something? I'll be understanding, I promise!"

"You have a really active imagination. Nothing's wrong, I swear."

Judy was silent on her end and Nick just knew that she wanted to press him on the issue further.

"So what did you want me to call about?" Nick asked, anxious to change the subject.

"Oh, I probably could wait until you got back to tell you this, but I'm getting a little antsy."

"What is it?"

"So my parents called today. They're going to be in town tomorrow." There was an uncertainty in Judy's voice that caught Nick's attention.

"That's great! Are they going to check out the apartment? You should be excited."

"I mean, I am…"

"I'll just get some work done at the office and stay out of your way."

Judy sighed loudly and Nick imagined that she was rolling her eyes at him. "See, that's the thing." She paused. "I need you there, Nick. I want to formally introduce you to them."

Nick had actually met Judy's parents, Bonnie and Stu, a handful of times. First at his own graduation. Then when Judy had dragged him to visit Bunnyburrow for the carrot festival. There was also that time that Judy had a simple fever and they had felt compelled to see her, despite the fact that she didn't even end up missing work. They seemed nice enough, if a little uptight, but then again, Nick had never been introduced to them as anything more than a fellow ZPD officer. He doubted they even knew that he was Judy's partner on the force.

"Introduce me? As what, your boyfriend?"

"Well… yes, actually."

There came that dull little ache in his head again. Nick rubbed his temple. The floor vibrating underneath him was not helping matters.

"Alright, Carrots. I'll do it if you insist."

"Oh Nick! Thank you so much!" Nick smiled softly to himself. At the very, he would make Judy happy.

"It'll be fun," he said, trying to convince himself more than anything else. The train lurched to a halt, and Nick almost had his phone knocked out of his paw as everyone around began jockeying for position to get off. "I'll be back soon," he was able to say as he was pushed forward.

"Sounds good," Judy said, followed by "you know that I love you, right?"

Nick's smile grew.

"Of course I know."

* * *

Judy sat the last moving box down and took a step back to inspect her work. The apartment looked a lot more lived in now. She had managed to get almost everything unpacked and in place. It had taken some time, but all the silverware and dishware was cleaned and put away in the kitchen. Nick's TV was plugged in and working. The bed in her chosen bedroom was all freshly made. She had organized all the toiletries in the bathroom. A card table and folding chairs were setup in the middle of the main room where a proper dinner table would probably go. _That'll have to do, for now._

Judy kneeled down, opened the last moving box, and took out a small stuffed bunny dressed up in a ZPD uniform. She closed her eyes and drew it in close to her chest. When Judy had first arrived in Zootopia, she had felt more than a little homesick. In order to ease the adjustment process, she had brought along her stuffed mammals from her childhood. Early on, snuggling with them had helped ease her nerves and helped her sleep. Eventually, it had just become a habit, to the point where Judy now wondered if she would even be able to sleep without them. But there was no way that she was going to let Nick know that she still cuddled with stuffed mammals. Now if only she could think of what to do with them…

The handle on the door turned and Judy quickly hid the stuffed bunny behind her back.

"Bunny, I'm home!" Nick walked in and chuckled at his own pun. Judy put on a smile and tried to look as un-guilty as possible.

Nick cocked an eyebrow at her. "Why are you looking at me like that?" His gaze shifted downward. "What do you have behind your back?"

 _Why, why, why didn't I just put it back in the box?_

"N-nothing! Ahhh!"

Nick pounced forward suddenly, catching Judy by surprise. She fell backwards, still clutching the stuffed bunny behind her back.

"Lemme see it!" Nick said as he tried to reach under her but she blocked his attack.

"Nick! What do you think you're doing?" Judy said, giggling as she tried to slide backward away from him.

"Oh, nothing…" Nick faked a move to the right and went left, reaching around Judy's back and pried the poor stuffed bunny from her paws.

"What do we have here?" Nick asked to himself as he rolled away from Judy.

"Hey! Give that back!" Judy cried, getting to her feet.

Nick also got up and held the stuffed bunny up above his head and beyond Judy's reach.

"A little bunny! And it's wearing a ZPD uniform! Aww, isn't that adorable!"

"Nick!" Judy jumped for the bunny, but came up empty.

"Now, Carrots. Why were you trying to hide this from me?"

Judy hid her face with her paws and peered up at Nick from between her fingers.

"I-I didn't want you to know."

Nick glanced over at the lone box in the middle of the room. An assortment of stuffed mammals peered out from beneath the cardboard flap.

"Are these all… yours?" Nick wasn't paying attention and lowered the stuffed bunny slightly. Judy took advantage and skied for it, coming down with the bunny wrapped tightly in her grasp.

Nick stared at his now empty paws. "Nice one."

Judy walked over to the moving box and gently set the bunny inside. Judy turned back to Nick, crossing her arms. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

Nick chuckled to himself and ambled over to Judy. He promptly pulled her into an embrace.

"Were you worried that I would judge you for having those?"

Judy looked up at him and nodded. "Not just for having them…"

Nick worked the inside of his cheek, thinking. "I know where this is going. For sleeping with them, right?"

Judy nodded again and laughed nervously. "That's my detective."

Nick steered Judy to the couch and they sat down together. Out of the blue, Nick started laughing.

"What?" Judy asked, the worry apparent in her voice.

"I'm just picturing you sleeping surrounded by those things. It's so incredibly adorable…"

"Incredibly… adorable? So you're not going to make fun of me?"

Nick looked at her with a puzzled expression. "I don't care about anything like that. Don't you worry," he said with sincerity.

 _Wow. I was way too insecure about this._

Nick sat back and relaxed. After a moment, Judy followed suit.

"I probably should have mentioned this sooner, but I like what you've done with the place."

"After everything you've done for me the past couple days, this is the least I could do."

"Did you get everything unpacked?"

Judy nodded. "Well, almost. I didn't know what you wanted me to do with your clothes."

"A pile on the floor is fine." After seeing Judy's expression, he hastily added a "just kidding!" He looked around. "Where are they?"

"In a box on the bed."

Nick got up from the couch and walked toward the back bedrooms. "I see you made your choice on the bedroom."

"I figured that having a window facing the road might be a little too loud."

Judy watched from the couch as Nick walked back and forth from the bed to the closet, hanging up clothes as he went. He sure did own a lot of green Hawaiian shirts.

"So what exactly is the plan tomorrow?" Nick called out to her.

Judy took a deep breath. Now was the moment of truth. "I had this idea in my head. I think we all should go out for dinner."

"Oh? What did you have in mind?"

"Um, I was thinking that we could go to Gusteau's."

Judy waited breathlessly for Nick's response. Gusteau's was right up there with the fanciest restaurants in Zootopia. She hoped that it wouldn't turn Nick off to the idea.

"You're probably going to need a reservation for that place," Nick said, seemingly unaffected by its mention.

Judy smiled nervously, even though Nick wasn't looking her way. "I already have one," she said, almost apologetically.

Nick stopped what he was doing and rejoined Judy in the front room.

"This is going to be the real deal, isn't it? Is it going to be a black tie event?"

Judy laughed. "No, nothing like that. Just be yourself. They'll love you!"

"I'm not so sure about that," Nick grumbled to himself.

Their eyes met and Judy was struck by how weary and anxious Nick suddenly looked. She tried her best to put on a comforting expression.

"You told me not to worry, remember? Well, I'm telling you not worry about this. Mom and Dad are really sweet. They won't bite, I swear!"

Nick turned away from her. "Will they be worried that I might? Bite them, I mean."

Judy's eyes widened. "Is that what this is about? They aren't going to be scared of you because you're a fox!"

"No?"

"Of course not! There are foxes in Bunnyburrow, after all. They're even in business with one right now," Judy said as her mind flashed to Gideon Grey.

"And they're also going to fine with their daughter dating a fox?"

"Well…" If Judy was being honest with herself, she wasn't entirely sure. They might actually have reservations, but they wouldn't be the type to be vocal about them, especially with Nick there. Or that was at least that was what Judy hoped.

"Don't you think that you should let them know before hand? Just to let them digest it?"

"Everything will be fine! Just trust me on this! Judy looked at him with the most begging eyes that she could muster. "Please?"

Nick sighed. "Who could resist that look? Alright."

Judy grinned. _Thanks, Nick._

"But I will have to take the Ewehaul back tomorrow, so I'll meet you there. Deal?"

"Deal!"

Nick came over and sat back down the couch next to Judy. He crossed his legs and put his arm around her shoulders. He reached for the remote that Judy had set on the coffee table.

"Wow, you took care of everything," Nick said upon seeing that the TV had already been set up. "Oh look, there's a game on tonight. Is this fine with you?"

Judy nodded and settled into the couch. Nick turned the volume up on the TV.

"It looks like they're going to try and ice him here, John," one of the announcers said.

Judy giggled as Nick involuntarily shuddered at the phrase and tightened his grip on her.

* * *

It was late by the time the game had finished. Nick covered his mouth as he yawned.

"I really need to catch up on sleep."

"One more day and then you can sleep in as long as you want," Judy replied.

They both got up to get ready for bed, with Judy going to brush her teeth first, while Nick went to go get changed.

Eventually, they both found themselves lying side by side in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Judy decided that she needed to do something before things got too… well… awkward. She wiggled closer to Nick until her head was right up against his shoulder. Nick tilted his head toward her. "Let me guess. You need a cuddle buddy."

In response, Judy wrapped her arms around him and pulled herself even closer. Judy closed her eyes. Everything was bliss.

"So… uh…what happens after dinner tomorrow?" Nick spoke up, breaking the serenity.

Judy opened one eye at him. "Oh, I completely forgot to mention that," she said. _Whoops._ "I think my parents will be staying here tomorrow night. Maybe for the entire weekend."

"It keeps getting better and better," Nick said, doing a poor job of hiding the irritation in his voice.

"They'll be out and about doing their own thing. I think they're treating this trip like a mini vacation."

"Do you want to go with them?" Nick gulped. "I guess I can go too," He said, sounding pained.

Judy tightened her grip around him. "Don't worry," she whispered.

Nick was a quick sleeper, and soon his light snores sounded softly next to Judy.

Judy took a lot longer to fall asleep. As she lay awake, her mind wandered. She wondered whether Nick's concerns were valid. No, Judy convinced herself. Her parents were going to be fine with everything. She could hear their congratulations ringing in her head. They were going to have a nice dinner. More than that, they were going to have a great weekend.

Judy could only hope for the best.


	5. Chapter 5

Nick looked himself over in the mirror with a critical eye and took a deep breath. "How do I look?" he asked Judy.

She scanned him up and down, a pink toothbrush hanging out of the side of her mouth. "Here," she said, reaching up and latching onto his necktie. Nick thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head as she pulled and twisted, but Judy was eventually able to work it into a more comfortable and presentable position.

"Thanks," he said, and returned to inspecting his uniform. "Maybe I should wear this tonight. No one can resist a fox in uniform, you know."

Judy shrugged. "I don't think it's the uniform that makes you a charmer." Nick watched as she set her toothbrush down and reached for some floss.

"Flossing? Now who's taking things too seriously?"

"Hey, you try going around all day with carrot bits stuck in your teeth. It's not exactly fun."

Nick's docket would have been full for the day even if he didn't have to plan around dinner that night. Somehow, he was going to have to get the Ewehaul back to dealer and then get to Gusteau's, all in the space of about an hour. Oh, and he needed to find a way to get changed into something a little more formal as well. Nick rummaged through his closet, but nothing stood out immediately. He had never owned a proper suit before, but really felt the need for one. He added it to his mental wish list for when he got his next paycheck and grabbed the nicest pair of slacks and collared shirt (one of the few without a Hawaiian pattern) that he had and tossed them into a duffel bag.

Nick and Judy took extra precautions to make sure that they weren't late for their shifts two days in a row, so they ended up arriving at the precinct half an hour early, Judy in the cruiser and Nick in the Ewehaul.

"What's your day look like?" Judy asked as they strolled down the hallway.

"I kind of didn't finish my report yesterday," Nick grumbled. "That takes first priority."

"So are you going to the briefing?"

Nick shook his head. "I already emailed Chief Bogo about it. I shouldn't be needed on assignment anyway."

They stopped when they got to the briefing room. They were the first to arrive.

"I guess that means I'm going to be out on patrol again," Judy sighed and Nick flashed her an apologetic look. He knew that giving out tickets wasn't exactly her favorite thing to do. Judy made a move to go inside.

"You're just going to hang out here?" Nick asked, checking the time on his phone.

"Better safe than sorry when it comes to being on time," Judy replied, to which Nick nodded in agreement.

"Alright then." He quickly glanced down the hall to make sure the coast was clear before giving Judy a little hug. "I'll see you tonight."

"I'm looking forward to it!" And with that, she was gone, closing the door behind her.

Nick ambled down the hallway, stopping in the locker room to drop off his duffel bag, and then headed toward the offices. He was feeling a lot better now than he had the day before, both physically and emotionally. _I guess a good night's sleep does have its benefits after all._ He thought back to the night before. The last thing he remembered was Judy snuggled up against him, her arms wrapped warmly around him. He was surprised at how quickly he had been able to fall asleep.

Nick made it to his desk and logged into his computer. In reality, Nick could get all his work done on the computer, but Chief Bogo still liked to get handwritten memos whenever possible. Nick felt very much obliged to provide him with one, given what had transpired the last couple of days. Nick stared blankly as he waited for the computer to boot up. This aspect of the job had never really agreed with him. He got back up and headed for the break room. One cup of coffee couldn't hurt.

Nick sat at the table in the break room while he waited for his coffee to brew. He tapped at the table with a pen that he had found, thinking things over. His mind had returned to the Cooper brothers case for the first time since he had stormed out of Finnick's. There was really nowhere to go with it. He had no evidence. He had no leads. He had nothing. It seemed to all the world that the raccoons' only motivation was a strong distrust of police. But Nick couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more going on. No, there _had_ to be something more going on. The pen slipped from Nick's grasp and rolled off of the table. Nick slouched in the seat and looked down at it laying on the ground. Perhaps he had let himself become too emotionally involved after Nicko had insulted him when he was making the arrest. Nick frowned. He wasn't one to let his emotions get the better of him.

Nick heard the sound of footsteps echoing down the hall and watched the table vibrate in front of him. Soon enough, an elephant poked her head in the door, her trunk twitching back and forth, finally angling toward the coffee maker. When she saw Nick, she froze.

"Hey, Francine. How are ya?" Nick waved at her.

Officer Francine didn't answer him; rather, she disappeared back around the corner. _That's odd._ After a moment, she reappeared in the doorway and then hesitantly tried tiptoeing into the room, moving shockingly lightly on her feet.

"Oh… uh… hey Nick," she said. "Are you, um, making coffee?"

Without waiting for his answer, she rushed over to the counter and grabbed a coffee cup with her trunk.

"Wait!" Nick called out. "I don't think…"

Francine had already made it over to the coffee maker, poured herself a cup of coffee, and was practically running for the door, holding the cup perfectly still with her trunk to prevent it from spilling.

"… It's done yet." Nick trailed off. _Well, that was really odd._ He shrugged. Maybe she was late for the briefing or something.

After a couple more minutes, a timer went off and Nick was able to grab his own cup of coffee. As he was returning to his desk, he saw the familiar broad figure of a tiger leaning over the printer in the corner of the room. Nick strolled over, sipping his coffee.

"Fangmeyer! You're just the mammal I need to talk to right now!"

Officer Fangmeyer jumped when he heard Nick's voice and then spun around to face him. Nick raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Wilde. Uh… what's up?"

Nick took another sip of his coffee. "Did you manage to get any information out of those two raccoons?"

Fangmeyer looked at him, puzzled. "What info are you looking for?"

It was Nick's turn to give Fangmeyer a look. "You're not suspicious at all? Of them, I mean."

"Nah, I think they're just idiots who did an idiotic thing."

 _Huh._ "Where are they now?"

"Probably at the clink by now. Our twenty-four hours were up, so we had to transfer them out last night. I don't know if any charges will stick or not." He shrugged. "It's not my problem anymore."

Nick bit the inside of his cheek and cursed silently to himself. He knew that he had probably blown his chance to pursue the case any further. There was simply nothing substantial that he could pin on them.

Fangmeyer was studying Nick closely. It looked like something was on the tip of his tongue, but he just stood there, staring. Nick's eyes darted back and forth. It felt like he was being sized up on the street or something. _He sure is acting strange today…_

Just then, the printer jumped to life, startling both of them, and saving Nick from the awkward situation. Fangmeyer grabbed his papers and was off, without so much as a goodbye.

Nick shrugged it off as some weird anomaly and returned to his desk. He dropped into his seat and stared at the blank memo that unfortunately hadn't moved from his desk. He let out a sigh. It definitely wasn't go to fill itself out, no matter how long he left it there.

Nick tried to avoid watching the clock as he worked, but the temptation was too much, and he found himself stealing glances. _9:30._ He looked again. _10:30._ And again. _10:35._ And again. _10:36_. _What?! There's no way it's only been a minute!_ He pushed away from his desk and looked around. For the first time, he noticed that he wasn't the only one in the office. Officers Delgato and Higgins were both at their desks working on something or other, while Johnson and Andersen were having a hushed conversation in the far corner. In fact, it was quieter in the room than he could ever remember hearing. Nick glanced at the clock again. Now that he thought about it, it was odd that no one had approached him yet today. He was generally one of the most popular officers when it came to idle chitchat. Nick rolled his chair out into the walkway and tried to meet Officer Delgato's eyes but the lion kept his gaze down on his work. He waited, his suspicion growing. Finally, Delgato's head jerked up from what he was doing. When he saw that Nick was staring at him, his eyes darted quickly away. Nick furrowed his brow in confusion. _Ok, something is going on here, for sure…_

Nick mulled over the lions's reaction. Could Delgato be mad at him for something? Nick tried to think back to the past couple days, but he couldn't come up with anything that had been remotely contentious between the two. _Hmmm._ It wasn't just Delgato either; Francine and Fangmeyer had both acted cautiously toward him as well. What was going on? Nick's mind raced a million miles an hour; did something he had said reach unintended ears? No, that couldn't be it; Nick went out of his way to avoid being critical of his fellow officers, as workplace squabbles irked him to no end. There had to be some other explanation.

Nick froze, a cold chill running down his spin. All of a sudden, the room around him felt like it was spinning and Nick clutched at his head as the familiar dull ache of worry began to build. While Nick's vision was blurred, his mind was hyper focused on the one explanation he could think of.

Clawhauser.

Nick had almost completely forgotten about his slip up around the cheetah the day before, as he had been in a haste to go see Finnick. The memory came rushing back to him, causing Nick to simultaneous cringe and sweat. That had to be it. Nick smacked his forehead with his paw and groaned. Of course Clawhauser hadn't kept his mouth shut; when had he ever? Had he truly thought that their secret was safe with the cheetah? Well, no, not exactly, but he figured that it would last more than one day. Nick instantly regretted not being more insistent with Clawhauser to keep things on the down-low. He looked up as he felt the full weight of four pairs of eyes bearing down on him. His fellow officers had all stopped what they were doing and were casting unblinking, unabating stares his way. He felt their judgement, their distrust, their scorn. He had hear their voices echoing in his head. _A fox and a rabbit? What world do they think they are living in?_ "No…" Nick whispered. _He thinks that he's good enough for her? Who does that fox think he is?_

Nick felt like he was going to be sick.

He jumped from the chair and tore across the room. He didn't know what he was doing or where he was going, he just knew that he needed to get out of there and away from the judgmental stares.

"Nick!" he heard Delgato call out behind him. "Where are you going?!"

"Lunch!" he managed to choke out just before he burst out into the hallway. When no one immediately pursued him, Nick slowed down to a trot and tried to focus his thoughts.

"What are you thinking, fox?" Nick growled to himself. Up ahead, a door opened and he could just make out the burly shape of Chief Bogo stepping out of a conference room. Nick skidded to a halt. The chief had his back turned to him, but stood disturbingly still. Nick's eyes darted back and forth, finally fixing on an escape route in the form of a door with a glowing neon EXIT sign emblazoned above it. Nick scrambled for it, diving through just as he saw Chief Bogo beginning to turn toward him.

Nick collapsed up against a dumpster just outside of the precinct. He pulled his knees in tight to his chest, trying to keep himself from shaking.

 _Well, this is the last place I figured I would end up today._ Nick couldn't help but laugh at his situation, a little wheezing noise that gradually grew in strength until Nick threw his head back and let out a full throat yell.

Nick slowly pushed himself into a standing position and took in his surroundings. _I may have overreacted just a little bit._ Nick dusted off his uniform. _I guess I might as well go out for lunch._

* * *

Judy monitored the cars passing in front of her through the sunglasses she had stolen… ehem… _borrowed_ from Nick. She glanced at herself in the cruiser's mirror. _I really do look the part now,_ she thought, smiling slyly, before pulling back when she realized just how much that expression reminded her of Nick. She wondered what he was doing at the moment, or perhaps more importantly, what was going through his mind. She was acutely aware of how nervous he was about meeting her parents, and one part of her felt guilty for forcing him into it, while the other part felt like chiding him for being so hesitant toward the idea in the first place.

Judy's phone began vibrating, causing it to leap off of the dashboard. Judy fumbled for it, hot potating it back and forth, before finally gaining control. A picture of her mom glowed up at her from the screen. Judy's ears stood up and she couldn't help but smile as she answered it.

"Hi Mom!"

"Hi bun bun. I'm not bothering you, am I?"

Judy tuned out the sounds of traffic just outside of the cruiser. "No, not at all," she replied.

"Good. I just wanted to let you know that your father and I are getting ready to leave… "

"Just give me five minutes! I'm almost ready!" Judy heard her dad call out in the background.

"… soon, I think," her mom continued unperturbed. "We should be there in about four hours. I can't wait to see you!"

"Same! It's been too long. Oh, you're going to have such a good time here!" she said excitedly.

"We're looking forward to it, trust me. Oh honey, before I forget, I just want to check to make sure that we have the right address down. I have eleven hundred Farmway Drive written down here."

"Yeah, that's right," Judy responded before suddenly remembering something rather important. "Oh! Oh, hey Mom, I almost forgot to mention this, but I was thinking that we should go out to dinner first. You know, before you guys come over. I have a surprise for you!"

"Oh?" Bonnie's surprise was evident and Judy gave half a second's thought to just telling her about Nick right then and there. Not now, Judy convinced herself. Deep down, she wanted to see how her parents would react, if just to prove Nick's suspicions wrong.

"Yeah! I, um, actually already reserved a table at a place called Gusteau's here."

"Gusteau's? That sounds fancy. You don't have to go out of your way to treat us, bun-bun."

"It's not a big deal!" Judy said earnestly. "I just figured that you guys should experience the best of what Zootopia has to offer."

Bonnie hesitated, but before the silence became too uncomfortable, she said "do we have to dress up?" Judy giggled at the concern in her voice and responded with an insistent "no."

"I won't keep you any longer," Bonnie said. "I have to go round up your father anyway. Oh dear. Where did he run off to?"

"So I'll see you guys there?" Judy asked, just to make sure…

"You can count on us," came the reply. "I'll see you soon. Love you."

"I love you too," Judy responded and waited on the line until she heard her mom hang up. Judy set her phone back down on the dashboard and slumped back in the seat, returning to the noisy real world once more. Only a few more hours to go and her parents would be back in her life. Judy could barely contain her excitement.

 _Maybe I should dress up after all,_ she thought.

* * *

Nick pushed his way through the crowd and raced up the subway stairs, narrowly avoiding getting his tie caught on a rhino's horn. He emerged into Warm Springs square, the center of the restaurant and bar district of downtown Zootopia. He looked around, trying to find his bearings. A sea of animals extended out in front of him, only confined by the shops on either side vying for the attention of even a single member of the crowd. Nick worked his way through the throngs of various mammals. He hadn't told Judy of course, but he knew exactly where Gusteau's was. It was better for a con artist if the mammals they were targeting had money, after all.

Earlier, Nick had returned to the precinct in order to get changed, and had then driven the Ewehaul all the way to the dealer near Tundratown. He figured that he had given himself plenty of time to get back downtown, but the subway was overcrowded on account of it being a Friday night. He just hoped that he wasn't late; he didn't want to hear what words Judy would have for him later if he was. _I bet Finnick's making out like a bandit_ , he thought, as he weaved and darted through the crowd. Up ahead, the numbers thinned somewhat and he could see the makings of a line forming.

He had finally arrived at his destination. Gusteau's was an older building, but it was impeccably up kept and just oozed class. It was the kind of restaurant that didn't need to have a sign out in front. Up ahead, he could just make out a familiar set up black tipped ears.

 _Deep breaths,_ Nick told himself. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this nervous, but then again, he doubted that he could remember much of anything at the moment. He rubbed his sweaty paws on his pants, instantly regretting the decision when he saw the paw-shaped spots that were left.

 _Calm, cool, collected. Like always._

"Yoo-hoo. Behind you, Carrots." Nick watched as Judy's ears shot up upon hearing his voice and she swiveled toward the sound. Nick emerged from the crowd with his paws in his pockets, trying his best to keep his usual easy smile on his face and the uneasiness out of his eyes.

 _Okay, maybe I shouldn't breathe so hard…_

Judy's eyes lit up upon seeing him and before Nick had time to process anything, she had launched herself at him, arms extended invitingly. Nick barely managed to brace himself for impact, and he almost lost his balance as Judy flung her arms around his neck and hung there for a second, perhaps to help him stay upright. Regardless, Nick wasn't complaining. She lowered herself to the ground and Nick got an opportunity to really look her over for the first time. She was wearing a little black dress that just hung off her shoulders and had a violet ribbon tied tightly around her waist. The color almost perfectly matched her eyes, Nick noted. He squinted to get a closer look and noticed cute little carrots embroidered here and there. _So much for dressing casual,_ he thought.

"Nick?"

Judy's voice brought Nick back to his senses and he felt his face go hot when he realized that he had been staring at her.

"Oh, uh, Carrots, you look… uh…" Nick found himself tongue-tied, an absolute rarity for a fox that had made a living as a fast talker.

Judy cocked her head to head to side and gazed at him with expecting eyes, a small smile working its way onto her lips.

"Yes?" she said coyly.

 _Eh, screw it. Say what's on your mind, Wilde._ "Carrots, you look absolutely stunning. You're making me self-conscious about my appearance," he said, gesturing at his suddenly shabby looking outfit.

"You're always so hard on yourself. I think you look very gentlemammally."

"Wow, those are words I haven't heard before," Nick said, involuntarily grinning at the thought.

"Well, I mean them."

"Judy, sweetheart! Over here!"

Judy's ears again shot up and Nick noticed that her nose started twitching, an adorable little motion that instantly filled his heart with warmth. He looked over her ears to see Bonnie and Stu Hopps waving in their direction. Nick grabbed Judy by her shoulders, spun her around to face them, and gave her a little push in their direction.

"They're your parents," Nick whispered, practically pleading for Judy to take the lead. Fortunately for him, Judy was more than willing to, as she skipped over and pulled them into a simultaneous hug.

"Oooohhh, I missed you guys so much!" she exclaimed cheerfully and drew them in closer.

"We missed you too, sweetie," Bonnie replied, followed by "alright, honey, that's probably a long enough hug. I think you're father's turning blue."

"Whoops, sorry." Judy released them and took a step back.

"Have you been working out?" Stu chimed in. "You look like you could wrestle a rhino right now."

"Oh please, Dad," Judy huffed at him lovingly.

"Nearly ripped my head off," Stu mumbled to Bonnie.

Nick wanted nothing more than to just sit back and watch their banter from afar, to be observant stranger. Alas, that wasn't an option, not after all the thought Judy had put into setting this up.

 _No time like the present,_ Nick thought, and strolled up next to Judy, his paws shoved back in his pockets.

Stu's eyes went wide when he saw the fox and he raised his paw to point toward him. "Hey, uh, Judy…"

"What's up, Dad? Oh…" her eyes darted over to Nick standing beside her and went wide. "Oh, I'm dumb." She gave Nick an apologetic glance.

"Mom, Dad, this is Nick. You've met before," she added hastily.

"I think I remember," Bonnie said. "You're the ZPD's first fox officer. Stu, he showed us the police station when Judy wouldn't, remember?" She flashed her daughter a look. Nick chuckled to himself at the memory. Judy had been absolutely right when she insisted that giving them a "tour" would be against department rules, but Nick had volunteered to do it just because he found the exasperated look on Judy's face to be funny.

"Yep, that's me. Nice to meet you again," he offered, and the two elder rabbits nodded in agreement.

"I didn't know you were going to bring coworkers," Stu said to Judy, looking down at his overalls. "I would have dressed more presentably."

"He's not just a coworker, Dad. He's my boyfriend."

 _Just like that._

Nick watched as Stu and Bonnie shot each other looks of surprise that slowly grew to concern. It seemed that they were mutually trying to formulate a response.

"Sorry," Bonnie spoke up hesitantly. "This is just unexpected, is all."

"We figured that we would surprise you two," Judy said, seemingly unperturbed by her parents' reactions.

Nick met Stu's gaze and gave a little shrug. He half felt like saying "it was her idea," but decided against it for reasons of self-preservation.

"It's definitely a surprise," Stu responded acerbically and Nick had to bite his tongue. It was better to go along with everything and say nothing than say something he might regret.

He looked to Judy, who still wore a carefree smile on her face. At least she was happy, was Nick's prevailing thought. All he had to do was avoid ruining dinner.

"We should go inside! We have a lot to talk about," Judy said.

 _Please no._ Nick sighed, and he saw Stu do the same. _Just don't let them see that they get to you._

* * *

"Thank you," Judy said politely to the sheep waitress as he refilled her water glass.

"My pleasure. Do you need me to get you folks anything else?" Judy glanced around the table, first at Nick sitting next to her and then at her parents, who were sitting across from them, looking for any form of acknowledgement. When none came, she replied with a meek "I think we're fine here."

After the waitress left, the table fell silent once again. Judy listened to the sounds coming from around them: the clinking of glasses, the unabating chatter, the laughter. The sounds of mammals having _fun._ And here they all were, staring quietly at their food and not interacting beyond the occasional stray glance and insincere complement about how nice everything was. Judy looked to Nick, who appeared more and more unsettled by the minute. _Come on, Nick_ , Judy thought. _Say something._ It wasn't like him at all to be this quiet for this long around, well, anyone. It almost felt like he had decided to purposefully avoid conversation, but Judy couldn't quite figure out why. Judy looked down at the table and realized that she was gripping Nick's paw in her own.

"So how long have you two been, uh… _dating_?" Her mother worked out the last word like she was apprehensive of it.

"Oh, um, maybe six months? Nick, does that sound right?"

Nick held out his paws and started counting. "The math checks out."

Bonnie and Stu again shared a concerned glance.

"That's, uh, a while, Jude," Stu spoke up. "When were you planning on telling us?"

"I'm sorry?" Judy rushed to come up with a palatable answer. "It, uh, never crossed my mind." _Tsk. That's not going to go over well…_

"You didn't think that this was something we needed to know about?" Stu's response was more disappointment than indignation.

Judy gave it a moment's thought. "No. No, I did not," she said firmly.

"But why?" Bonnie protested. "We feel, well… we feel that we should get a say in this."

"What?" Judy wasn't entirely sure that she had heard her mother correctly. "A _say_ in this?" She looked to Nick. His eyes were wide and he rapidly shook his head back and forth, pleading with Judy not to pick this fight. She was on her own.

"No," she said flatly. "You get no say in this, whatever _this_ is. None."

"Please, Judy, just listen to us," Bonnie begged.

"About what?" Judy's should have known that the conversation was teetering on the precipice of disaster, but her curiosity got the best of her.

"We have, um, concerns," Stu said, struggling to make eye contact with either Nick or Judy.

"Like what?" Judy said, as her foot involuntarily began thumping under the table.

"Selfish reasons, really," Bonnie responded, looking down at the table in an almost shamed way. "There's your future to consider…" She hesitated and then fell silent. Judy stared at her in confusion, waiting on pins and needles for the next words, but they never came. Instead, Stu jumped in.

"It's fine, Bon. If you don't want to say it, I will," he said, patting her on the back before looking Judy directly in the eyes, as a new determination burned in his own. "We're looking forward to grandkits. With a fox, well, that dream's as good as dead."

Judy inhaled sharply as a tidal wave of emotions crashed over her. She tried to speak, but no sound would come out.

"Don't you want kits?" Bonnie said softly, her gaze still firmly downturned.

Judy slammed her fist on the table and took a deep breath, working up the courage to tell her parent's exactly what was on her mind. Just as she was about to let loose, she was cut off by Nick.

"Don't mind me, I just have to go use the restroom," he said, seemingly addressing no one in particular. "You know, when nature calls and all that. Ha ha!"

And with that, he was gone, leaving Judy to glower at her parents, who exchanged sorrowful glances.

This wasn't how Judy envisioned the night going at all.

* * *

Nick tore across the restaurant in search of the bathroom. Upon seeing his urgency, one of the servers gestured to his right and Nick rushed that way, finally coming upon the bathrooms at the back of the hall. Nick threw the door open and stumbled inside. Thankfully, it was empty.

 _Wow, did that actually go worse than I had anticipated?_ Nick thought, still in disbelief at the preceding events. _I didn't even have to say anything!_

He worked his way past a series of sinks set up for larger mammals until he got to one that was more his height. Maybe, just maybe, the past few hours had been a nightmare that he could wake up from. He splashed water on his face. _Nope, this is definitely real life._ Nick looked at himself in the mirror and was greeted by the haggard face of a fox. His eyes were sunken and his fur had an unkempt, matted look to it. He wouldn't look out of place on the streets with Finnick, Nick decided, no matter how nicely he tried to dress. Nick closed his eyes and listened to the faucet run. There was no way his day could have gone any worse, was there? For the first time in a long time, he felt tears beginning to well up. Nick grit his teeth and splashed more water on his face. They had definitely gotten to him.

He opened his eyes and his face again came into focus, but this time he was joined by another figure. He wasn't alone after all. Nick blinked rapidly. He hadn't heard anyone come in, and he was quite sure that he had been the only one there just a moment before. He squinted at the figure's reflection in the mirror. It was definitely a fox; an arctic fox to be exact, his white fur contrasting sharply with the dark suit that he wore. After a moment, the other fox spoke.

"Hello, Nicholas. It's been awhile."

The fur on Nick's neck stood straight up. That voice. He would never forget it, no matter how long he lived. A low growl began building in his throat.

 _Crevan. How can he be here?!_

Nick knew that his day was, in fact, going to get a whole lot worse.


	6. Chapter 6

Nick slowly turned to face Crevan. The same Crevan that had betrayed his trust, taken everything from him, and had up and left without so much as a goodbye. The arctic fox gazed back at him, a smirk firmly plastered on his face.

Nick burst out laughing.

How could he not? Nick could definitely comprehend how the past few hours had gone horribly for him, but to couple those events with Crevan just appearing out of the blue? His whole day had become an absurd affair.

The white fox stared at him, his conceited smile slowly melting into a frown.

"Hey, Nicholas, the least you could do is return my greeting."

Nick doubled over from laughing, completely ignoring Crevan's complaint.

"Give me a second!" he cried, barely choking the words out in between laughs.

Wheezing, Nick struggled to lift himself upright.

"I'm sorry… I was just thinking about you trying to look all serious and intimidating…" he gestured around the room, "…in a bathroom, of all places."

Crevan's eyes worked back and forth studying Nick, while Nick himself leaned back against the sink, a smug expression of his own working its way on his face.

Crevan spoke up at last. "I guess some things never change. You never could take things seriously, could you, Nicholas?"

Nick winced. Hearing Crevan utter his full name like that was like claws on a chalk board to his ears.

"I take everything I do seriously. Personal policy of mine."

Crevan cocked an eyebrow. "That's funny coming from the world's worst security guard." he said. "And the worst milk man ever. Oh, and who could forget that time when you were supposed to be Finnick's designated driver?"

Nick's features softened and, against his better judgement, he felt a pang of nostalgia somewhere deep down. "Oh yeah?" he responded lively. "And how did all those end up exactly? Last I checked, Mr. Big still has all of his suits, the old man got his milk, and Finnick… well, he's still alive."

"Fair enough." Crevan chuckled softly. "Oh, except for the fact that you still owe me three hundred bucks for the suits, soy milk isn't the same as cow's milk, and Finnick will never let anyone else drive his van again."

They shared a laugh together, and it seemed as though all the tension had disappeared from the room. It was never going to last.

"I forgot how much I liked you, Nicholas. We could have accomplished some great things." Crevan's eyes locked onto Nick and his gaze grew cold. "But you had to let your fanciful little dreams get in the way."

Nick's whole body went rigid. It felt like he had been walloped in the stomach with a brick and all the air had been simultaneously sucked out of the room. He felt his upper lip curl and his nostrils flair. It took a few breaths, but he finally composed himself enough to speak.

"After all this time, that's what you have to say to me? After all you've done, I figured you'd come back here on your knees begging for help." Nick practically spat out the last few words.

Crevan simply smirked back at him. Nick felt like he was looking through a mirror into some bizarro world; it was unnerving how much the expression reminded Nick of himself.

"Well? Let's cut to the chase: what are you doing here, Crevan?"

"Aw, we were having such a nice conversation. Can't we just continue that?"

"We both know you're not one for idle chitchat."

Crevan let out a disappointed sigh. "The ZPD is always so suspicious of foxes…" He stepped toward Nick until they were within inches of one another. Nick, despite being almost a head taller, instinctually shied away. "I'm here to help you."

Nick laughed, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings. He has apprehensive to the point where he could no longer meet Crevan's gaze. He started pacing back and forth in front of the arctic fox. "This will be good," he said, with as much snark as he could muster.

"I have an offer for you," Crevan continued, ignoring Nick's flippantness. "I can get you back to where you belong."

"Back to where I belong?" Nick watched Crevan out of the corner of his eye; he was the kind of animal that you should never turn your back on.

"Away from the ZPD. They're not like you. You're not like them. It's as simple as that. Or are you delusional enough to think that they actually liked you?"

Crevan's words hit Nick like a freight train. On any other day, he would have been able to brush them off easily as a feeble attempt to incite him. But not today. Not after what he had experienced. Nick was scared by how much truth he heard ringing in those words. For the first time since he became a police officer, Nick decided to follow the first instinct he always had when faced with an intense situation: he tried to run away.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but never let me see your face again," Nick called back at Crevan as he headed for the door.

"You're going back to those bunnies? I could tell just how much they wanted you around," Crevan laughed contemptuously to himself, causing Nick to stop dead in his tracks. "I don't know what you're thinking, Nicholas, but I can tell you that that's not going to end well…"

"Oh, and I hope you fall down a mammalhole somewhere," Nick barked back to him, but any further comments were cut off by the bathroom door swinging open, causing Nick to jump back in order to avoid being smashed up against the wall. A hippo strolled into the room, completely oblivious to the fact that he had almost accidentally created a fox sandwich. Crevan took advantage of the distraction to catch up to Nick, sliding under the hippo and reaching out to grab Nick by the arm.

"You're going to listen for once." Nick felt Crevan's claws dig in. "Not just to me, but to Finnick, to your cop pals, to those bunnies back there. We're all telling you the same thing," Crevan whispered. There was something ominous buried in his words.

Nick could do nothing but stare at him incredulously, and he found himself being led back out into the dining room like a mother would lead her kit.

One single realization managed to come to Nick. _Has… has he been following me?_

"It's been a pretty hard day, hasn't it, Nicholas?" Crevan leered at him, and then leaned in until his muzzle practically touched Nick's ear. "I'll be at the corner of Pride and Farmway at two tonight. It should be a pretty short walk for you."

Nick's mind sputtered and he found himself unable to form a coherent thought. Crevan pulled away and made to leave, but he turned back to face Nick one last time.

"I take my job seriously."

And with that, he has gone, seemingly vanishing behind a service cart that had rolled in front of him.

Nick remained rooted in place, staring blankly in the direction Crevan had gone. He felt a shove behind him and almost went sprawling as a hyena pushed his way past him.

"Watch it, buddy," the hyena snapped and continued on his way.

It was enough to bring Nick back to his senses.

 _Crevan knows where I live._ The thought bounced around Nick's head as he struggled to fully comprehend what it meant. He had no idea what Crevan was up to or what he needed with him, but there was no doubt in his mind that Crevan's words constituted a threat. His mind jumped to Judy and he felt an unfamiliar protective instinct rise up inside of him. He had suddenly found himself caught in a dangerous situation, but more importantly to him, she was unwittingly in the same situation.

Nick forced his mind back into the real world. He needed to stay focused. He tried to force the whole encounter with Crevan to the back of his mind; he couldn't allow Judy to know that something was amiss. Not until he figured out what game Crevan was playing. Nick slowly worked his way back through a boisterous party of mammals that were getting up to leave. Despite the cacophony of noise that was the restaurant, Nick heard Judy before he saw her.

"… You didn't even try to get to know him!"

 _Great. Now I have to go back to this…_

"Are you _sure_ that you really know him? Who knows what kind of n-n-nefarious things he could be using you for!" Nick heard Stu say, just as their table came back into his view.

"Really, Dad?! Really?!" Judy broke off her icy stare when she say Nick approaching. She squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her temple, and Nick barely resisted the urge to sprint across the room and comfort her. Suddenly, she jumped up from her chair and made a motion to slam her fist on the table, but just barely held back.

"You guys should look into booking a hotel for tonight. Come on, Nick, let's go."

Nick barely made it to the table before he found himself being pulled away from it by Judy tugging at his tie.

"It was nice to meet with both of you," he managed to blurt out to Bonnie and Stu before Judy wrenched him away.

* * *

Judy stormed out of Gusteau's with Nick closely in tow, giving the concerned hostess a dismissive wave as she went. The noise spilling out from the inside of the restaurant mixed with sounds from the street, assaulting Judy's ears from all sides. She felt like she was being smothered, but there was no way to fight back against the crowd of mammals threatening to envelop her. The only thing she could do was to try and get away from it as soon as possible.

"Woah, Carrots, slow down, will ya?!" Nick panted behind her. "We need to talk."

"Not here," she replied sternly and ploughed forward and away from the main plaza. She had to find a place away from the crowds and the lights and the noise in order to gather her thoughts.

Soon enough, the entrance to a parking garage appeared in front of them and Judy rushed into it. The parking garage was cold, dark, claustrophobic, and the air felt damp. It was a welcome reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the city. Judy instantly felt more relaxed; it reminded her of the burrows that she had spent so much time in as a kit. Judy made her way to the back of the garage where she had parked the cruiser, fumbling for her keys as she went. _At least I haven't lost these yet…_

She slowly crawled up onto the seat. Her whole body suddenly felt incredibly heavy and her limbs incredibly weak. Judy glanced at herself in the mirror, but quickly looked away when she saw the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes. She tried to fight her emotions, but it was a battle that she wasn't going to win this time. Sobs wracked her body and she found herself gasping for breath.

Judy heard the sounds of the passenger's side door opening and Nick getting in beside her, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him. She froze when she felt him pat the top of her head, her last cry catching in her throat.

"Your ears are drooping," he whispered and softly ran the pad of his paw up and down her right ear.

"Oh Nick," Judy sobbed. "What am I doing?"

"I honestly couldn't tell you," Nick replied dryly. Judy wiped the tears from her eyes and turned to face him. In the darkness of the parking garage, Nick's green eyes shone with a mesmerizing intensity.

"T-that wasn't what I was expecting to happen at all. It couldn't have gone any worse!"

"I wouldn't say that. It _could_ have been worse. I'm talking a lot worse. Hear me out on this. We got lucky that the place was so loud. I don't think anyone even noticed the little family feud going on. Can you imagine if everyone was staring at you?" Nick grinned and Judy could almost see the lightbulb turn on over his head. "Oh, and what if Chief Bogo was there?" He dropped his voice in a vain attempt to impersonate the chief. "Hopps! Where did you learn to behave like this public? Were you raised in a barn?!"

Judy giggled, and the last of her tears were dislodged and fell harmlessly onto the seat beneath her. _Thanks, Nick._ She could always count on him to cheer her up, even though she knew that the whole situation must have been just as hard for him as it had been for her. She reached back and put her paw on top of his as he slowly massaged her ear.

"I'm sorry I put you through that," Judy apologized. "I didn't think they would treat you like that. You must feel terrible!"

"Terrible? Judy, listen to me. Whatever they said back there, it's positively tame compared to some of the things I've heard." Judy had no doubt that his words were true, but she simply couldn't believe that he hadn't been bothered by her parents' words. Judy, herself, couldn't remember a time when she had been more embarrassed.

"Don't hate your parents because of me," Nick said, as though he could read her mind. "I get it. You. Me. It's… _untraditional_. They were just surprised, is all. They'll come around."

Judy smiled softly. "You're a lot more optimistic than I expected."

"What? You didn't know I'm an eternal optimist?"

Judy rolled her eyes at him. "I know how scared you were for tonight."

"Scared? Hey now."

"Anxious, nervous, whatever. And I guess you were right to be. And yet, you're handling this better than I am."

"It helps not being emotionally unstable." Judy gave Nick a light punch on the shoulder, eliciting an "ow". "No, you know what? I imagined it going worse," he said, matter-of-factly. "Here's what's going to happen. They're going to call soon, there will be a lot of tears and apologies, and everything will be back to normal in the Hopps family."

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

In her heart, Judy knew that he was probably right, but she wasn't overly concerned with her own relationship with her parents. She loved them, regardless of their faults, and they loved her. She knew that they genuinely thought they had her best interests in mind. Rather, she wanted them to get to know Nick like she knew him: as the kind, funny, selfless, and devoted mammal he was. Fox or not, she loved him and there was nothing that was going to change that.

Judy gazed into his comforting green eyes and felt his touch on her fur. She lost herself in the moment. It was the perfect distraction from the emotional whiplash she had just been put through. Perhaps it was too much of a distraction, as she failed to notice the poorly hidden fear behind those eyes that she loved so much, or the way that they scanned every shadow, just waiting for something, or someone, to jump out.

* * *

Nick stared at the wall with bleary vision, struggling to keep his eyes open. As the minutes turned to hours, it became harder and harder to fight the urge to sleep. He turned over slowly, being careful to avoid making any noises that could wake Judy up. He found himself inspecting each individual hair on the back of her head and listening to the rhythmic sound of her breathing.

The evening had gone just about how Nick had predicted it would. After a while of lounging around and waiting (plus impatient foot tapping on Judy's part), Bonnie had finally called to let them know just how wrong Stu and her had been. There were lots of apologies, just a few tears, and, finally, one tired bunny that could go to bed hopeful that things might, _just_ might, have a chance of working themselves out.

Nick didn't have the same luxury that Judy had: his worries were keeping him up all night. Well, up to two o'clock, if he was being precise. Nick rolled back over and looked down at the watch he had strategically left by the side of bed. Having night vision came in handy for a lot of different situations, but this was one of the more unexpected ones. _1:53. Guess I better get going._

Nick carefully slide himself out from under the covers and landed silently on all fours. He stealthily crawled across the floor to the bedroom door, which he had deliberately left propped open earlier. Even when he was out in the relative safety of the living room, he still moved with excess caution. He couldn't do anything that had the remote possibility of waking Judy up. He didn't dare turn on a light or check his cellphone, and, above all he couldn't make any noise. Internally, he cursed rabbits and their incredible hearing.

Now came the hard part. Nick's eyes locked on the door in front of him. _Easy does it_ , he thought, reaching for the handle. Slowly, he turned it, listening for the click of the latch. When he felt that it would come, he slowed down even further. Eventually, he was able to work the door free and started to swing it toward him.

 _Creeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkk…_

Nick froze. He cast an ear back in the direction of the bedroom, but detected no sounds of movement. It took a moment, but Nick eventually worked up the courage to tiptoe out the front door and into the night. The night air was surprisingly warm on his face, and it made the fact that he was wearing just shorts and a t-shirt more bearable. Nick moved to close the door behind him.

 _Creeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkk…_

He pressed his ear up to the door, but again heard no movement inside.

 _This place is brand new. How the hell does that door already creak?!_

Nick worked his way down the stairs and to the sidewalk. _Alright. Pride and Farmway it is._ Nick begrudgingly started walking. The night sky above the city was completely clear and, outside of the sound of the occasional passing car, it was quiet. Unnervingly quiet. Overhead, a full moon shone brilliantly, bathing the buildings around him in a seemingly unnatural light.

Nick stopped in his tracks. He could detect traces of the familiar scent of fox, but he couldn't pinpoint what direction it was coming from. His noise darted back and forth as though it was being jerked around on a string. When he couldn't immediately locate the other fox, he tensed up and felt his claws unconsciously extend. Suddenly, a shadowy figure appeared at the edge of his vision, and Nick's head snapped straight forward. Crevan was standing under a burned out streetlight with his paws clutched against his chest, a giant shadow extending out in front of him. Nick took one last glance around at his surroundings to make sure that they were alone and stepped forward until he found himself completely enveloped in Crevan's shadow.

"Nicholas, you're on time, for once," he called out. When he saw Nick's bloodshot, tired eyes and general stormy disposition up close, he added "well, you don't look happy to be here."

"I'm just out for a stroll. I don't know what you're doing here," Nick deadpanned back to him. Crevan opened his mouth to get in a response, but Nick interrupted him. "No, no. I start. I don't want to know why you're here. I don't _care_ why you're here," Nick said, his voice growing in intensity. "What I do know is that you are going to leave here tonight and never come near me, never come near my friends, never come near my home, again."

"Oh?" Crevan's eyes twinkled with amusement and it was obvious that he was suppressing a smile.

Nick went for the knockout punch. "I doubt you want Mr. Big to know you're back in town. You wouldn't survive a night."

The smile broke out on Crevan's face and he chuckled softly. "I'm glad to hear that you're not opposed to stepping over the line, you crooked cop you. I was counting on it."

Nick clenched his teeth and balled his fists. "I'm serious."

"So I'm I. That shrew isn't what he used to be. He can't touch me. Not even in Tundratown." The arctic fox was completely relaxed and in control of the situation. Nick yelled internally. He had put all his eggs in one basket and it had broken on him. Now Crevan had all the leverage.

"Is that all?" Crevan smirked at him. He knew exactly what was up. "Alright. I said that I have an offer for you, but it doesn't sound like you're going to be receptive. I was hoping that I wouldn't have to turn it into a threat." He shrugged. "But what can you do?"

"Crevan…" Nick growled, a sense of panic growing in his chest.

"What? You just threatened my life. I suppose I could do the same." He paused, feigning being deep in thought. "Or I could threaten your precious little Judy Hopps. That might work better." It took all the self-control he had for Nick to not jump on him right then and there. Crevan watched the internal struggle play out on Nick's face with a smile. "But I won't," he conceded. "Instead, I'll just say this: If you want to remain an officer of the ZPD, you'll do exactly as I say."

A shocking sense of relief rushed over Nick. _That's Crevan's trump card?_ Maybe there was still a chance that he could get out of this. "What are you going to tell them? That I'm a former con artist? That I engaged in dubious activities? Nice try. The chief already knows everything about my history." Nick crossed his arms and gazed at Crevan smugly.

"Everything?" The arctic fox countered with a smug expression of his own. "I doubt that. I doubt that very much. You would be in prison if that were the case."

A cold chill ran down Nick's spine. How had he been so blind to Crevan's true intentions? Of course that was why he was back in Zootopia.

"Calipto ring a bell?" Crevan continued, reveling in Nick's reaction. "Ah, it does! I was starting to think that you had forgotten all the fun times we had."

Nick's mind raced, searching for something, anything, that he could throw back at Crevan, Suddenly, he came up with one. "You're bluffing," he said firmly. "You would go down for it too."

"Please. I've been in this business a long time. Any and all evidence I have will point to you and you alone."

Nick had no doubt about the truthfulness of Crevan's words. He knew firsthand how meticulous and cautious the arctic fox was. His stomach sank as the true magnitude of Crevan's threat dawned on him. _He's going to get me kicked off the force…_

"I wouldn't lie to you, Nicholas," Crevan said softly.

 _Yes, yes you would. You have before._

"I'm listening," Nick hissed under his breath.

"I told you that you would," Crevan beamed up at him, self-satisfaction oozing in his voice. It made Nick feel absolutely sick. "My employer, well, let's just say that he's a little paranoid when it comes to keeping his… _unsavory_ affairs a secret. So we need to set up a little surveillance operation. That's where you come in." Crevan's eyes went wide with glee. "I need your help to infiltrate the ZPD."

"What?!" Nick couldn't help but shout and the word echoed back to him from across the empty street.

"Oh, it's easy on your part. I just need you to get my guy in. That's it. Maxwell here will take it from there."

 _Maxwell?_ Nick's eyes fixated on Crevan's paws, which hadn't moved from his chest the entire time they had been talking. For the first time, he realized that there was another mammal among them. Crevan uncupped his paws, revealing a tiny mammal whose species Nick couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Hi. You can call me Max," he squeaked up at Nick.

"Shut it, Maxwell," Crevan snapped. "Anyway, I'm not even asking you to get your hands dirty. Just get him in and out, then keep your mouth shut about it. That's it."

"That's it?" Nick was incredulous.

"I'll be out of your life forever. No one will be any the wiser and no one will get hurt. Not you, not Officer Hopps, no one. That's my promise to you. What do you say?"

Nick didn't immediately answer. His mind flashed back to some of the biggest decisions of his life that he later regretted. Here was another such decision; what choice would he regret the more? Nick looked past Crevan to the glowing city skyline. He had finally found his true place in this city. He belonged in the ZPD. He belonged with Judy. And he wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize that.

"Come on, Nicholas," Crevan pleaded, his previous confidence completely evaporated.

The only response Nick could manage was a grunt.

"What is that? Is that a yes?"

Nick locked eyes with Crevan. "God I hate you."

Crevan flashed a legitimately relieved smile. "That's a yes! Maxwell, give him the when and where."

"Er, I guess that we're going to aim for the midnight shift change tomorrow at Precinct One," the diminutive mammal spoke up. "Minimal number of cops in the building. I can meet you here thirty minutes beforehand."

"And what do I need to do?" Nick asked softly. He felt sorry for Max; it was obvious that the little guy was out of his element. Nick wondered what circumstances led to him falling in with Crevan.

Max shrugged. "Just walk in the front door."

Just then, the headlights from a passing car briefly illuminated the three of them. Nick covered his face with his paw and turned his head away, wanting to avoid any chance of being seen. Crevan watched him as the car passed, chuckling to himself.

"Welcome back to the other side, Nicholas," he said as he turned and started walking away from Nick. "Have fun tomorrow!" he called back before disappearing into the night, taking Max with him.

Nick didn't move until Crevan was long gone. The initial shock of Crevan's "offer" had worn off and Nick was able to contemplate it clearly for first time. Crevan wanted him to betray the ZPD, to betray the trust of his fellow officers. He wouldn't do it. _Are you sure that they're your "fellow" officers?_ A nagging voice in the recesses briefly spoke up, but Nick quickly buried it. No, he was only going along with the plan to buy himself more time. He was going to find out who Crevan's employer was, what they were up to, and he wasn't going to quit until the arctic fox was rotting in a cell somewhere. Oh, and he needed to locate and get rid of some evidence along the way. Nick sighed to himself. He was going to be treading a fine line.

Nick returned to the apartment as stealthily as he left it. He let out a sigh of relief when he found Judy still sound asleep. Watching her laying there, breathing softly, he briefly considered asking for her help. After all, she was a far more capable officer than he was. If anyone could think of a way to get him out of the situation, it would be her. And yet, Nick knew that he wouldn't. He _couldn't_. He didn't want to put her in any unnecessary danger. He didn't want to get her caught up on the wrong side of the law. And above all, he didn't want to drag her into webs of his past. Crevan was his responsibility and his alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Nick swiftly stuck his arms out to the side in a last ditch attempt to catch his balance. He swayed back and forth a few times before managing to steady himself. He glanced back to Finnick, who's only response was a disapproving shake of the head. Nick smirked to himself and continued prancing across the railing of the cobblestone bridge.

"If you fall, I'm not driving you to the hospital," Finnick warned.

"It would be a waste of the doctor's time anyway," Crevan muttered, trailing behind the two other foxes as they made their way across the bridge.

"What's that? Do I hear a lack of confidence back there?" Nick hopped down onto the dirt path at the foot of the bridge and spun to face his two companions. "In _me_?"

"I don't exactly see anything here that would inspire confidence, no," Crevan responded as he took in his surroundings.

Nick had to concede the truth of his statement. Everything around them was deserted and decrepit, from the overgrown grass, to the bridge they were standing on, and especially the abandoned factory to his immediate right. If Nick didn't know any better, he would have assumed that no mammal had set foot there in about a decade. The complexities of city life had no place here. It was quiet. It was tranquil. It was perfect.

"Hey, I promised you the opportunity of a lifetime, didn't I? Well, I'm a fox of my word." With a flourish, he stepped to the side to reveal the large dilapidated warehouse behind him. The same warehouse that would serve as the foundation for his dream. After so long, it was finally his.

Crevan scratched his head, looking confused. "What am I supposed to be looking at here?"

"This," Nick replied in his best salesman voice, "is Wild Times!"

Crevan squinted, his confusion deepened. "Or at least it will be!" Nick hastily added.

Finnick smacked his paw to his forehead. "You're really going with that name?!"

Crevan's eyes darted to Finnick. "You know what he's talking about?"

The fennec fox gave a curt nod. "What, you haven't heard this guy yap about his little project before?"

Crevan's eyes came back up to Nick, who could feel himself being judged by both foxes. "I think I'm beginning to piece this together," Crevan said. "This thing" – he pointed at the warehouse – "is yours now. You're trying to come up with a way to use it. I think I have some ideas." Before Nick could stop him, Crevan's "ideas" came flying at him fast and furiously. "How about using it as a drop point? I doubt that any cops will come sneaking around here any time soon. Oh, maybe you can charge for storage. The docks are right down there. I know the Bambino herd uses them for a variety of shipments…"

"Woah, woah, woah! I'm going to have to stop you there," Nick interjected forcibly. "I already know what I'm going to do."

"Oh? What would that be?"

Nick held an imaginary microphone up in front of his muzzle. "Wild Times is the only amusement park within Zootopia's city limits. With attractions for each and every mammal, Wild Times is the perfect option whether you're looking to get away from it all, entertain the kids, or just want to try something new."

Crevan chuckled and wagged his finger in Nick's direction. "This guy." Nick remained completely stone-faced, causing Crevan to falter. "Wait, are you serious? An amusement park?" He looked to Finnick, who simply crossed his arms in response. "Oh no, you're serious."

"Completely. I've thought about this a lot. The closest amusement park is out in the Meadowlands. Think about it. We can offer kids something they can do after school. Not only that, but Wild Times can be a place that all mammals can go, interact, and, of course, have fun! Together."

Crevan was completely slack-jawed. "What has gotten into you?" he finally managed to say. "Where is this coming from? You sound like a naïve little kit."

Nick had anticipated such a reaction, and he was able to shrug off Crevan's words like they were nothing. The arctic fox wasn't exactly an idealist, but Nick knew that there was one part of his little sales pitch that could catch Crevan's attention.

"I'm going to need all the help I can get. You can actually help make a difference. Oh, and make quite a bit of money for yourself along the way too."

Crevan smirked. "You know me too well." Suddenly, his expression became downcast. "You're in on this?" he asked Finnick.

"This," the diminutive fox replied, gesturing to the warehouse. "This is my way out."

Nick jumped on Finnick's point faster than a hippopotamus into a watering hole. "This is one hundred percent a legitimate operation. Crevan, you would no longer have to look over your shoulder for the cops at every turn. Now wouldn't that be nice?"

"One hundred percent legitimate, huh?" Crevan scoffed. "So tell me, how'd you get the money for this thing? Come on, I know you didn't win it in a bet. This must have cost a fortune." Nick stared at the dirt path beneath him. "This, _this dump_ is what you spent your money on!?" Crevan cried accusatorily.

Nick looked up, flashing a sly smile. "Well, not all of it. Just most of it," he replied.

"Alright then. Question time. How were you even able to purchase this, Mr. No-credit?"

Nick shoved his paws into his pockets. "You know what? Fine. It's not in my name. Technically… Mr. Big owns it. It's my money though."

Crevan's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head. "Really?! You got _Mr. Big_ to go out on a limb for you?!" He took a few moments to calm himself before muttering "I wouldn't trust that shrew as far as I can throw him."

"That's probably a long way…" Nick quipped back at him, but Crevan made no acknowledgement.

The arctic fox continued: "And you really want to give up everything you have going here to try and pursue, what, some stupid idea? Or should I say some stupid dream you had as a kit?"

Of course Crevan knew what Nick's proposal was going to be beforehand; he somehow always knew things that he shouldn't. "You're not as dumb as you let on." Nick shrugged. "If you don't want to be a part of it, fine. I really don't care."

"Clearly you do, though. You wouldn't have dragged me out here otherwise."

"Sure. I could use your help. But I could also get any of ten thousand other mammals to help me. I thought I would be nice enough to give you the first crack at it."

"Nicholas. Listen to me. It doesn't matter how much time you put in, or how hard you work, or how much you want it, it's never going to get off the ground."

"Killjoy," Finnick spat, then fell silent again.

"I don't want to say this dream of yours is stupid." Crevan paused. "Alright, I do want to say that. Your dream is stupid. But it's also dangerous. You have a good thing going here. You're practically in Mr. Big's inner circle. Some mammals would kill for that. Literally. And you're going throw it all away for… what?

"Oh, I don't know." Nick looked skyward, his attention focused on nothing in particular. "Maybe just a chance at a normal life?"

"A normal life?" Crevan shook his head. "Ohhh…you want to be like them? You want to play by their rules? Do you not see the way they look at you? You're a fox. You're a con. This is what you're good at. Don't try to be anything else."

"You know, I've always thought the same as you do. That's why I need this. I need this because I let this city get to me a long time ago, and this one single, little, crazy idea is the only thing keeping me going. Beyond this, I have nothing; nothing to wake up to in the morning, nothing to push me forward, nothing to get excited or even nervous about, nothing." Nick locked eyes with Finnick, who gave him a nod. Nick grinned and returned the gesture.

"You're gonna have less than that when this all falls through," Crevan grumbled.

"I guess we'll just have to see," Nick replied, his grin growing wider.

"We'll see," Crevan whispered, his voice barely audible. He didn't know why at the time, but the words sent a chill down Nick's spine. "We'll see."

* * *

"Nick! It's almost noon! Are you planning on getting out of bed today?" Judy called out from the kitchen, tapping her foot impatiently. _You would think he had a long night last night or something…_ She turned an ear toward the bedroom and heard the rustling of sheets, followed by a yawn.

"Don't make me get the spray bottle," Judy said, laughing as she did so. Even with her impeccable hearing, she could barely make out Nick mumbling something about "cruel and unusual."

"I have sly, dumb, and now lazy written down. Is there anything else you want me to add to the list?"

"Handsome… I'll go with… devilishly handsome," Nick replied sluggishly.

"Just for you, I can do that. Now get up."

"… so bossy…"

Judy swiped the cruiser keys off the counter and headed for the door. "Hey Nick, I'm going to the store. Is there anything you need?"

"The store… what for?"

"My parents are coming by for dinner tomorrow. I just thought I would get some things ready."

Judy heard Nick get out of bed. "Wow. That's a quick reunion." He poked his head around the door. "What are you thinking of getting?"

"Hmm. I don't know. I'll figure it out when I get there." She clapped her paws together. "Ohhhh, how about a blueberry pie! We'll see whether Zootopia can measure up to Gideon."

"What's that now?"

"Oh nothing. I'll be back soon." _That's weird. I thought I locked the door last night…_

Judy skipped down the stairs and to the parking lot. The sun shone brightly and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Judy stretched and let the sun soak in. The day couldn't get much nicer. Judy shook her head at the thought of Nick still lying in bed; he was missing out on so much. She made her way to the cruiser. She figured that she would just go to Targoat and try to get everything she needed in one trip. The store was close enough that if she ever felt like she needed the exercise, she could jog there and pick up some small items, but she definitely needed to grab a little more than carrots and coffee beans this time around.

It took Judy a while to find a suitable parking spot (parallel parking the cruiser was always a pain) but she eventually found that wasn't annoyingly far away and got out. The sunlight had made her a little drowsy, so she stretched again and did a little pirouette on the sidewalk to get some blood flowing. She felt a pair of eyes fixated on her and turned to see an antelope with a confused expression on his face and a half-eaten stalk of celery sticking out of his mouth. Judy gave him a little wave and he shook his head like he couldn't quite process what he was seeing. Judy supposed that a bunny dressed in a bright pink t-shirt and jeans wasn't what most mammals anticipated as the driver of a police cruiser.

Judy made her way down the couple of blocks to the cross walk in front of the Targoat and waited. _It almost would have been quicker to jog here,_ Judy thought as she waited for the light to turn.

"Oh, oh, look over there! Is that her?" Judy heard an excited voice female voice in the direction she had come from. She turned to find two llamas working their way through the crowd of animals, both waving their hooves as they went. Judy instantly pegged them as a couple and she vaguely recognized one of them from somewhere, but she couldn't quite put her finger on where…

"Look at her, Keith! She's so cute!" the female llama exclaimed. Judy pursed her lips upon hearing the "c" word, but figured that she meant no offense and didn't pursue the topic. "Sorry… do I know you?"

"Oh my gosh! I still haven't introduced myself! I'm Marcy and this is my husband, Keith." The two llamas interlocked arms. "From apartment four-twenty-eight! We're your neighbors!"

"Ah, I'm so sorry! I should have recognized you guys! I'm Judy, by the way."

"It's so nice to meet finally you, Judy. When Keith told me one of our neighbors was a bunny, I was so excited!" She turned to her partner. "I think she lives up to the hype!"

 _This is a little weird… oh well…_ Although it usually irked her, Judy was used to some city animals reacting rather… _enthusiastically_ when they first met her. Just as long as it didn't become too diminishing, or go on too long, she could put up with it.

"Say, where's your boyfriend? Ow!" Marcy recoiled as Keith gave her a quick elbow. "Oh! Right. I mean, if he is your boyfriend, that is."

"I should add that we support y'all. If you're even together that is," Keith added breathlessly.

Marcy covered her mouth with her hoof. We're so sorry!" she breathed. "We just assumed…"

"No, no, don't be!" Judy said, her face flushed with embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess Nick and I are together." Judy realized that she had never causally said those words to anyone before. The words felt like they were pulling a weight off of her chest as they left her tongue and she felt a warmth flood through her.

"Nick. Niiiccck." Marcy worked the name over slowly like she could taste it. "It's great that you're so open about this! We're really happy for you two. I really mean it!"

"…really mean it," Keith parroted next to her.

"I mean, a bunny and a fox? I think it's absolutely adorable." Just then, the pedestrian crossing signal lit up and the crowd of animals began to filter across the street, taking the trio with them. Keith used the distraction to quickly change the subject.

"So… ya'll are police officers, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes. Yes we are," Judy replied, momentarily thankful for a new topic of conversation.

"Oh, Keith, you didn't tell me that! That might explain what they were doing last night," Marcy butted in.

Keith turned his head to her. "No, I don't think so. They didn't have their uniforms on."

"Oooohhh, an undercover operation maybe?" The two llamas sped up, seemingly forgetting about Judy.

"I'm sorry, what are you guys talking about?" Judy called out to them as she broke into a jog to try and keep up.

Marcy looked down with an apologetic look that communicated that she had, indeed, forgotten about the bunny in their midst. "Oh… er… we saw you two out late last night… and were, uh, just wondering what you were up to."

Judy's ears shot up and her brow furrowed in confusion. "Late last night?"

"Well, more like the early morning."

"Wait, now that I think about it… I guess you weren't there." Keith added.

"Yeah, I think it was two foxes. A white fox, maybe?"

 _Two foxes? And one of them is Nick?_ Judy felt a feeling of uneasiness roll over her. She fell silent, lost in thought.

Marcy stopped when she reached the other side of the street and stared at Judy with a concerned expression on her face. "Oh, no! We're being nosy, Keith, we're too nosy!"

"Yeah, sorry. It's probably police business, anyway," he offered.

Judy barely heard him; her mind was racing a million miles a minute. _Is Nick trying to hide something from me? No, he wouldn't do that. This could just be a mistaken identity,_ she thought. But no matter how hard she tried to convince herself, she couldn't shake her detective instinct that something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Yeah. Police business," she finally managed to say. "That's what it is."

* * *

Nick ever so slowly closed the front door and looked up and down the hallway to make sure the coast was clear. He took a deep breath and rued the fact that he was getting so good at sneaking out without waking Judy. He tiptoed down the hallway and then hustled down the stairs, taking two steps at a time, the cruiser's keys jingling in his pocket as he went. Regardless of the outcome of the night, Nick wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

"Woah, look out!"

Nick jumped at the sound of the squeaky voice and his left foot slipped out from under him. The next thing he felt was the back of his head slamming onto the concrete step underneath him. He slid down the last remaining steps and ended up lying on the ground clutching his head.

"A-Are you okay?"

Nick rolled over and found himself nose-to-face with Max.

"Yeah, everything's just peachy." Nick sat up slowly, rubbing the throbbing spot on the back of his head. "What are you doing here?"

"What? We were supposed to meet tonight, remember?"

"What are you doing right _here_ , you idiot. Do you normally hang out at the bottom of stairs? I almost stepped on you!"

"Hey, it's up to you to look before you step!"

Nick grumbled to himself and worked his way into a kneeling position. He looked down at Max and scoffed at his all-black getup, including a black turtleneck and stocking cap. _What does this guy think he's doing?_

Nick did a double take when he noticed the duffle bag that lay behind Max. The thing must have been twice the tiny mammal's size. Nick picked it up with two fingers.

"Now how did you manage to get this here?"

Max shrugged. "I took a Zuber."

Nick got up and started for the cruiser, but doubled back to Max, who was struggling to keep up. "So… uh…. do you need a lift or something?"

Max gave him an affirmative nod.

"So how is this supposed to work? Do I pick you up by the scruff of your neck or by the tail or what?"

"Ha ha. Very funny."

"You think I'm joking." In one swift move, Nick reached down with his one free paw and grasped the dunnart, who was too stunned to offer any protest. Nick dashed to the cruiser and deposited Max and the bag in the passenger's seat before getting in himself.

"You should ask before you do that, you know!" Max protested.

"I'm not in the mood, little guy. We're going to do this my way, or not at all."

"I don't see what…"

"Zip it," Nick snapped as he backed the cruiser out.

The drive to the precinct should have been a quick ten minute jaunt, but, to Nick, it felt like it was taking forever. He briefly contemplated turning the siren on to blow by what little traffic was on the road, but ended up just impatiently drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He watched Max out of the corner of his eye, but the minuscule mammal just sat there looking at the dashboard after he discovered that he couldn't put on the seat belt because it was thicker than his entire body. He wasn't very keen on it, but Nick needed something to keep his mind off the task ahead, so he decided to try his paw at making conversation. _Maybe I can work some information out of him…_

"So… how exactly did you fall in with Crevan?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"You don't strike me as the type he usually associates with."

"Well, I'm not really working for him. It's more like a one-time arrangement. Boss's orders."

 _Go on…_

Max looked up at Nick with a look of realization on his face. "Never mind."

"What? I'm part of this little operation now too. I need to know what's going on."

"Yeah, but you're not exactly here willingly." Max shook his head. "Sorry."

Nick rounded a corner and the precinct came into view to their right, its large visage seemingly blocking out everything else around it. Nick gulped as a wave of emotions flooded over him at the sight of it; emotions that he hadn't felt since… well, since he had been on the other side of the law. Nick pulled to a stop in front of the entrance. He noticed that the parking lot was almost full, but that wasn't surprising. Most officers didn't take their cruisers home, even if they were allowed to.

"This is my domain," Nick said, trying more to work up his own confidence than intimidate his accomplice. "If you want to leave here on your own freewill, you'll do exactly as I say."

"Um, I have a question first. How are you going to get me inside? Do I have to crawl in your pocket or something?"

"You are NOT crawling in my pocket." Nick looked around the cruiser and his eyes settled on the lavender purse laying on the floorboard. _Cute._ "This looks like our only option. Get in."

Max shook his head in objection, but Nick simply smirked in response. "Come on…"

Moments later, Nick walked up the steps to the ZPD's main entrance with the lovely lavender purse slung over his shoulder.

"Oh, oh, oh, hey Nick!" A familiar cheerful voice rang out across the lobby. "I didn't expect to see you here this late!"

"I could say the same thing, Clawhauser," Nick replied. "Are you ever not working?"

"Yeah…" The cheetah let out a sigh. "Hey, isn't it your day off? What are you up to this late?" Clawhauser asked, resting his round chin on his paws.

"Up to? Ha ha! Nothing!" Nick chuckled nervously. "I… uh… just forgot something?"

Suddenly, Clawhauser jerked straight up as something caught his attention and Nick instinctively jumped back, preparing to turn and leave.

"Look at that bag!" Clawhauser breathed. "If I had to guess, I would say that's not yours. Let me guess: that's Judy's, isn't it?"

"Uh… yes, actually."

"And you're here to pick some things up for her so that she doesn't have to waste time during the weekend."

"Uh… yes. Yes, that's exactly what I'm doing."

"O.M. Goodness! You two are so adorable together!" Clawhauser cried in his normal overenthusiastic manner, causing Nick to flinch. He thought back to the events that had transpired not forty-eight hours prior.

 _Clawhauser, you blabbermouth. You might think that, but I doubt that everyone else here does._

"I must say though, I think it surprised a few of the guys…"

 _Knew it._ Internally, Nick felt like ripping into the cheetah for his lack of discretion, but he knew that doing so would simply lead to a profuse amount of apologizing, something that he didn't have time for at the moment. Instead, he responded with a meek "what now?"

Clawhauser gasped, as though he just now realized what he had said. "Oh, I think I'm holding you up. Forget I said anything. Go, go!" he said hurriedly and made a shooing motion. "Don't leave Judy waiting."

"Well, alright then." Nick gave the cheetah a little salute and turned down the hallway toward the offices. _Dolt._

Nick nervously glanced around for any signs of his fellow officers, but there were no signs of anyone anywhere.

"Psssst!" he whispered down at his purse. "I should have asked this sooner, but what am I doing?"

"You have a work computer, right?" came the muffled reply. "Go there."

Surprising, or perhaps fortunately, the offices were just as empty as the rest of building appeared to be. Nick hesitantly made his way to his desk and sat down. He turned the purse over the desk and gave a shake, causing the little mammal inside to tumble out with an "oof."

"That was uncalled for, you brute."

"Yeah, yeah. Now tell me what your evil plan is."

"Log on to your computer. I need access to all the ZPD case files."

Nick folded his arms across his chest and cast an eye at the dunnart. "Well, I can't get you that."

"You can't, but I can. Now log on so I don't have to spend five minutes figuring out your password."

Nick begrudgingly smacked at the keyboard before sitting back and watching as Max unzipped the bag he had brought and drug out a flash drive and a miniature keyboard. "Isn't that novel," Nick muttered to himself.

"Hey, don't just sit there! Plug these in for me, will you?" Max squeaked up at him.

"You sure you're the best mammal for the job?" Nick asked, annoyed, but he did exactly what he was told.

Nick could do nothing but sit back and watch as Max went to work. He tried to stay engaged at the start, but he really had no idea what was going on. Something about "spoofing," maybe? Nick soon became lost in his own thoughts. For the past few hours, Nick had been trying to keep himself moving and occupied so that he wouldn't have to think about what he was taking part in. Now, he had nothing to do but sit and think. He still couldn't quite process how things had gone the way they had. Here he was, inside _Precinct One_ of all places, aiding and abetting in a crime against his own friends and coworkers. He kept on trying to tell himself that he only had good intentions, that this was a means to an end and he would find those responsible and set everything straight in the end. Nick sighed to himself. He could keep lying to himself, or he could face the fact that he was just trying to look out for his own selfish interests and had no real plan beyond that. _What would Judy have done in my situation?_ He thought. _Definitely not this, but then again, she wouldn't be stupid enough to find himself in such a position in the first place._

"All done," Max harshly whispered, breaking Nick out of his meditation. "On to the next one."

"Next one?" Nick asked incredulously.

"Yeah, I need to access two different computers for what I'm trying to do. Blah, blah, it's all very complicated." Max turned an eye toward Nick. "You can get on another computer, right?"

Nick gulped and balled his paws up, digging his claws into his own pads. "Um… yeah. I can do that," he replied quietly, feeling subdued. He only had to go a couple of feet to find a computer they could use.

Nick couldn't bring himself to sit down in Judy's chair, so he simply stood while he waited for the computer to boot up. Of all the things that he had done the past couple of days, he knew that what he was about to do was going to bother him the most. Nick took a deep breath. Judy had never directly told him her password, but she didn't need to. He knew what it was. Nick felt faint. What he was doing now was a direct violation of her trust and… and it was unforgivable. He didn't know how Judy would react if she ever found out, but at this point, Nick would honesty understand if she never wanted to speak with him again.

"You done yet?" Nick complained impatiently after a while of watching Max incessantly type away at his keyboard.

"Actually, yes I am," came the reply. "I can now access all the ZPD's files remotely. Cool, huh?"

Nick, who had found himself leaning on the desk, snapped to attention. "That's just great… let's get out of here."

"W-Wait! We still have to do one more thing."

"You have got to be kidding me…"

Max gave him an apologetic look. "How do we get to Chief Bogo's office?"

"Son of a…" Nick almost kicked the desk, but just barely managed to compose himself. "Come on." He scooped up Max and his gear, as well as a paper clip (just in case…) and tore out of the offices, but skidded to a halt when he reached the hallway. "Clawhauser's still there. We'll have to take the long way." He doubled back and dashed up the emergency stairwell. Nick stealthy moved along the second floor until the grand ceiling of the lobby came into view. He kneeled down slowly looked over the railing. Below him, he could make out the back of Clawhauser's head as he sat at the reception desk. Outside of the cheetah, the building was still shockingly empty and deathly quiet.

Nick pressed himself against the wall and slinked over to the door of Chief Bogo's office. He tried to turn the handle, but, as he expected, it was locked. Nick fished out the paper clip he had grabbed earlier and began the process of picking the lock. His suspicions about the city cheaping out on locks was soon proven correct and they made their way inside the office, and Nick deftly closed the door behind them.

"Do what you need to do." Nick said as he sat Max down on the chief's desk. "What do you need to do?"

"Some good old fashioned wiretapping," Max replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he rooted around in his duffle bag.

Just then, Nick's ears registered the faintest sounds of a deep, baritone voice echoing out in the lobby. _It can't be…_ He pressed his ear up against the door.

"… Heck of a night out there, Clawhauser. Something weird is going down on Herd Street." Nick sucked in a breath. It was undoubtedly Chief Bogo.

"Hurry up! Bogo's downstairs!" he hissed at Max, but kept his ear pressed against the door.

"Chief! Have you heard the new Gazelle single yet?" Clawhauser inquired.

"Clawhauser! We've talked about this! Not on the job." Nick heard the chief's footsteps sound as he made his way across the lobby. "Anyway, I need to grab some things from my office. Then I can finally enjoy my blasted _day off_."

 _We're so dead…_

"Max, we have to go now!"

"Almost there!"

"No 'almost!' Now!"

"Hey Chief, whaddarya we are going to do about Judy and Officer Wilde?" Clawhauser's muted voice filtered through the door, causing Nick to freeze.

"We'll have to figure it out tomorrow, won't we?"

 _What they're going to do… about us?_

"Nick! I'm done! Let's go!"

Nick's attention snapped to Max, who was waving at him from Chief Bogo's desk. Nick gave him a shushing gesture and snapped his head back to the door.

"Chief, uh, just to let you know, Officer Wilde is…" Before he could finish, a ringtone sounded, filling the precinct with music.

 _I won't give up, no I won't give in_

' _Til I reach the end and then I'll start again_

 _No I won't leave, I wanna try everything…_

"Uh, Clawhauser, I have to go," Nick heard Chief Bogo say quickly, followed by the heavy sounds of his hoof-falls as he swiftly exited the lobby.

Nick remained rooted in place. Of course he knew that Chief Bogo wouldn't approve of their relationship, but he now wondered if it was a fireable offense. _Get it together, Wilde. You still have a job to finish…_

"Hey! Hey! Fox! Let's go!" Max was incensed, but Nick was well past the point of caring.

"You asked for it," he responded and swiped the dunnart off the desk and shoved him in the purse.

"I was just going to say that Nick's here," Clawhauser muttered to himself. "Somewhere. Where is he?"

Just then, Nick came rushing down the stairs and blew past the reception desk.

"Oh, there he is. Hey Nick!" Clawhauser called out.

"Hey, Clawhauser," Nick called back. 'Bye, Clawhauser!" With that, he blew through the front doors of the precinct and out into the safety of the night.

Nick and Max sat in the cruiser wordlessly for a long time, waiting for their pulses to return to normal. Nick had felt an adrenaline surge that he hadn't had in a long time. It was different than the kind of rush he experienced when chasing a criminal or even when he was hustling. In fact, now that he thought about it, he hadn't experienced it since… since the last job he had pulled off with Crevan. Speaking of the devil…

"So that's it, right? I've done everything Crevan asked."

"Er… I probably should have mentioned this sooner, but Crevan wants you to do one more thing," Max said hesitantly.

Nick could do nothing but let out a sigh. _Of course he does. Did I expect anything else?_ "What does he want me to do?"

"He wants you to meet him."

"Where?" Nick asked, but his intuition already told him that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"The Nocturnal District."


End file.
